CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Mold. Roaches. Mushrooms growing in the bathroom. These are some of the unhealthy conditions families live in at an old Camden apartment complex. City officials say they are working to hold the owner accountable.
The smell of mold hits immediately when you walk into the apartments in building B of All American Gardens on South 8th Street. County officials say all of the buildings in the complex have similar issues that have long been unaddressed by the owner. Mayor Vic Carstarphen was visibly upset when he laid eyes on it.
“Man, this is just truly unacceptable. This is the irresponsibility of the management here,” he said.
Betzaida Kellum had tears in her eyes as she showed the hole in her bedroom floor where mold had been growing.
“This was leaking so bad, it’s just crazy. All of this was soaked, everything. I fell in this exact spot four years ago. Nothing was done about that,” she told KYW Newsradio. “I had a mushroom that grew grew, actually, out of my wall.”
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Kellum says her kids have health issues from breathing in mold for years, and that they’ve been staying with a friend because it’s not safe for them inside.
“I had cancer twice living here. I was a healthy female at 18 living here,” she said. “It rains on the inside of my house. My windows get icicles. We don’t get heat in the winter time. Your lights flicker on and off all day long.”
The property is owned by Joseph Caruso, who owns many other properties in Camden. County officials say he’s been fined and they have alerted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development about the conditions to possibly take away federal housing subsidies.
“We’re going to have an internal meeting on what are things we can do to put fire under his behind. He’s not holding up his end of the bargain at all, and he hasn’t been,” Carstarphen said.
Calls to Caruso’s management office were not answered.
Carstarphen says maintenance workers were at the property making repairs over the weekend, but he adds it was more of a Band-Aid than permanent solutions to mold and pest infestations.
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