Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Seniors' public housing inspected
728 violations found in 12 buildings
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A special inspection of 1,500 public apartments for the elderly in Cincinnati turned up 728 violations, according to a report the city is scheduled to a release today.
City Councilman Charlie Winburn characterized the violations as “little things” that taken together are “major.”
The apartments are in 12 buildings operated by the Cincinnati Met ropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). Citizens appeared at city council in June to complain about conditions, and council ordered the health department, building department and fire department to investigate.
Mr. Winburn summarized the 728 violations as plumbing leaks, fire doors that don't latch, poor emergency exit signs, defective heat detectors and audibility of fire alarms.
Fred Prather, a district fire chief, said the most serious violation was in the Evanston Building, where residents in some apartments could not hear the fire alarm. CMHA has posted security guards at night until the alarm can be repaired, he said.
“Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing has cooperated with us,” Chief Prather said. “They were correcting violations as we went along.”
City Councilman Jim Tarbell, who has opposed the inspection from the start, called it “election-year politicking.”
Three city departments “were virtually held hostage for a month to do this extraordinary step,” he said, not ing that at least 60 violations were residents' use of extension cords.
Tom Jones, chairman of the Avondale Public Safety Task Force, said small things can seem significant to senior citizens. A loose tile, for example, can cause an older person to fall. Mr. Jones said he pushed for the inspection.
“A lot of minor incidents we consider life-threatening to the senior population have been uncovered, and they are being corrected, and we are very happy about that,” he said.
CMHA Director Donald Troendle could not be reached Tuesday.
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