Update Oct. 21, 2024:
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office has filed an additional charge against Mon View LLC.
After fire hydrants inside the complex failed inspections and a small child reportedly fell through the floor of an apartment unit, the DA charged the company on Monday with a felony count of causing or risking catastrophe.
Original story:
Days after citing a West Mifflin apartment complex as a public nuisance, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. toured the property, pledged improvements, and said he would hold its owners accountable for the poor conditions there.
Earlier this week, the district attorney filed charges against Mon View Apts, LLC, the company that owns Mon View Heights, a 326-unit complex in West Mifflin.
Zappala said Friday he intends to ask a judge to appoint a receiver who would be responsible for paying bills and making fixes to the property; that person or entity would use the hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal housing funds now going to the LLC.
The property is receiving about $230,000 in monthly subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, he said.
“That money has not been used for the benefit of the people that live there,” Zappala said Friday.
The district attorney said he acted in response to concerns from municipal and police officials in West Mifflin, who had reached out to him about problems at the site. A criminal complaint made public earlier this week detailed problems with broken windows, mold, and even raw sewage on the property, as well as hundreds of police calls in recent months.
“These guys, it’s almost as if they were trying to run the property into the ground,” Zappala said.
Mon View, along with a number of other local affordable properties, was sold last year to a New Jersey-based company, NB Affordable.
At the time of the sale, the new owner pledged investments in the properties, saying it had plans to invest more than $10 million into the homes, “ensuring every apartment meets NB’s pioneering standards.” Still, a number of local affordable housing advocates expressed concern and skepticism about the new owner last year.
WESA has reported previously on health and safety concerns from tenants at several other local NB Affordable properties.
The company has not responded to inquiries seeking comment.
On Friday, as the entourage of police officers, local officials, and reporters made its way through the complex, Zappala and the reporters were approached by a number of residents who shared their stories.
“There’s too much crime going on around here,” said one woman, tearfully. “My kids are scared. My kids are scared of the rodents that run around. My babies are scared of a lot of things.”
Gil Berry, a real estate developer who does not live at the property but said he has spoken with a number of tenants, said residents do not want to lose their homes.
“They don't want to be displaced,” he said. “And I'm going to try to fight to make sure that they stay, even if we got to remove some of these bad properties and take them offline and talk about building new housing for the residents here.”
Zappala said no one would be displaced.
The district attorney said Friday that HUD has been unresponsive to local officials.
A HUD spokesperson told WESA earlier this week the agency “is working with the owner, management agent, and local authorities to ensure these residents have access to the quality, affordable homes they deserve.”
Zappala was also critical of the Allegheny County Health Department for failing to promptly remedy a sewage problem.
The health department has 17 open cases at the site, according to county officials, that involve rodent and cockroach infestations; electrical issues; no hot water; owner terminated gas service; missing or damaged toilet; mold; garbage and debris around property; plumbing issues; broken gutters; and openings in ceilings, walls, and foundations. It has also dealt with dozens of other cases at the complex both last year and earlier this year, officials said.
No court date has yet been scheduled for the charges against the LLC.
