DC Attorney General Karl Racine sues city housing authority, again

Very last drop, Neil Albert, the chair of the DCHA’s governing board, stepped down amid queries above conflicts of curiosity, together with his vote for a resolution that integrated his partner’s enterprise amongst architectural corporations competent to get hundreds of thousands of bucks in contracts. A number of days later, the D.C. Council’s housing committee identified as for an investigation by the Office environment of the Inspector Typical into “a troubling pattern” of unethical and “potentially criminal” behavior at the company. That investigation is ongoing.

DCHA board chair steps down amid issues more than conflicts of interest

In 2020, Racine’s office environment sued the authority above allegations it experienced failed to address drug- and firearm-associated nuisances at 10 properties, an action that compelled the company to make safety upgrades to individuals attributes.

In Thursday’s suit, which seeks unspecified damages, Racine’s office environment alleges that the authority pressured additional than 250 disabled tenants to wait around a long time for realistic lodging after they proved it was essential.

In a single situation, a tenant who had asked for a wheelchair-accessible device in 2017 experienced to count on other individuals to have her to and from her fourth-flooring condominium so she could make her health-related appointments, the go well with alleges. The woman died last 12 months, even now waiting around for her new device, the complaint suggests.

In another situation, a tenant who was bedridden and immobile asked for a two-bedroom device so her daughter could provide as an overnight caretaker. While that request was accredited a 12 months back, it has but to be fulfilled, the match suggests, forcing the woman’s daughter to set up a digicam in the residence to monitor her mom whilst she sleeps.

D.C. growth has soared below Bowser. So have housing expenses.

“This criticism helps make obvious that DCHA has consistently unsuccessful to fulfill its authorized duty to accommodate District inhabitants who have bodily disabilities with housing models that are harmless and accessible,” Racine said in a statement.

DCHA spokeswoman Sheila Lewis declined to remark Thursday, indicating the authority had not but reviewed the grievance.

“After trying to get to persuade DCHA to deal with these safety and quality of lifetime issues, we had no choice but to file this case to be certain that the disabled tenants get the accommodations that the legislation calls for,” Racine’s statement mentioned.