Water leaks at 1900 Sherman Ave., a public housing development with approximately 100 residents, poses serious health risks, the Housing Authority of Cook County said Tuesday.
HACC has an obligation to temporarily relocate affected residents until the leaks are repaired, HACC said.
Residents in 27 units of the Jane R. Perlman Apartments learned last month they will have to move temporarily while the leaks are fixed. Residents in 18 of the units have signed a petition asking HACC to allow them to stay in their apartments.
Multiple residents who signed the petition say the water damage in their apartments is minor and only occurs during the most severe rainstorms of the year.
But in an interview with THE DAILY on Tuesday, HACC Executive Director Lorri Newson said the risks associated with the leaks are serious.
“Even if the water’s coming in one day, that’s one day too many,” Newson said. “We know to have water come into the unit is unsanitary, and we have an obligation to keep (residents) in sanitary living conditions.”
On Friday, THE DAILY reported incorrectly the affected residents will have 30 days to move. The “30 days” mentioned in a notice to residents refers to the beginning, not the entirety, of the relocation process, Newson said. City officials did not respond to calls before the publication of Friday’s article.
Still, some residents say the water damage is occasional and easily dealt with. Brian Pendleton, 71, said his apartment has only leaked about five times during the five years he has lived at the residence. Only one corner leaked, and cleaning was a “mild nuisance,” said Pendleton, who circulated the petition asking HACC to let residents stay in their homes.
Many of the Perlman Apartments’ residents are elderly, which makes the water damage especially serious, Newson said. Residents with poor vision might slip if they do not see the water, she explained. Standing water might also lead to mold in vacant apartments whose residents are in the hospital or on vacation, she said.
In response to a DAILY article on the proposed relocations, HACC issued a press release Tuesday defending its plan.
“Reports of leaks occurring in a building that houses the elderly and disabled is not an issue that HACC takes lightly,” the release stated. “HACC officials are working closely with Mayor Elizabeth B. Tisdahl and Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) to ensure the smoothest transition possible and will coordinate the efforts of architects, the building manager and maintenance crews to ensure that repairs are made promptly.”
To fix the leaks permanently, repair crews will “tuckpoint” the building, a process designed to prevent water from seeping in.
But as the 18 signatures on Pendleton’s petition suggest, many residents still have doubts about the plan.
“If they’re going to be on the outside working,” asked one elderly woman, who lives in one of the affected units and preferred that her name not be used, “why do we have to move out of here?”
Asked the same question, Newson said it is the water damage, not the repairs that are causing the relocations.
“Because we know that there is a problem with the water penetrating, we’ve got to get them out of those units where the water’s getting in,” Newson said.
For residents who have to move, their new apartments may not be far away.
There are currently six empty units in the Pendleton building, which Newson said some residents may be able to relocate to. More housing is available several blocks away at 2300 Noyes Court.
Residents can choose to live in other public housing communities, and they can also decide to rent other apartments at a subsidized cost using a Section 8 housing voucher.
HACC will provide staff to pack and move for each of the affected residents, Newson said.
Residents can move back in after the repairs, HACC’s press release states. But that appears to be many months away. With the design and bidding process still ahead, it is likely that the tuckpointing will not begin until the summer, Newson said.
