Federal records indicate there hasn’t been an official inspection of the conditions at Boyd Manor, a 39-unit low-income senior apartment building in Algiers, since early 2016. Residents say problems such as leaks, mold and mildew were present long before Hurricane Ida, after which they claim the onsite property manager abandoned them.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pays 70% of the rent for tenants at Boyd Manor. Properties where HUD subsidizes rent are supposed to be inspected annually unless the facility has a good upkeep history, in which inspections can take place every two to three years.Boyd Manor scored 80 out of 100 on its most recent inspection in January 2016, which is within the range to skip a year of HUD evaluation. To skip two years, a property has to score 90 or higher, but there are no records indicating Boyd Manor has been inspected since 2016.A HUD spokesman did not explain why there haven’t been inspections at Boyd Manor over the past five years. The agency provided the following statement:”Housing is critical to the health and safety of communities, and HUD is committed to making sure that HUD-assisted properties provide safe, healthy, and affordable housing to all residents. Now that HUD has received and reviewed the property owner’s preliminary disaster assessment following Hurricane Ida, the department will conduct an in-person site assessment in the upcoming weeks and then work with the owner on a plan for how they will make any needed fixes to the property. We expect that the property owner will uphold their commitments to residents, just as we expect of all property owners.”Tenants at Boyd Manor went 11 days without electricity after the Aug. 29 storm. Members of the community group Algiers Proud provided food, water, ice and generator power for residents in the interim. They have also called on officials to improve conditions at the building.A spokesperson for Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed on Sept. 24 that his Office of Elderly Affairs is conducting an investigation into “abuse” at Boyd Manor.Boyd Manor is owned by the nonprofit National Baptist Housing and Economic Development Inc. Its chairman is local pastor Willie Gable, who has referred questions about Boyd Manor to its property manager, Nashville-based Taliafaro Inc.Rosalind Swinger with Taliafaro provided a statement Tuesday that included an update on Boyd Manor. “An official report is pending to determine if there was substantial flood damage,” Swinger said in the statement. “However, two units on the first floor of Boyd Manor have been deemed uninhabitable. Taliafaro provided the two residents… with assistance to relocate to alternative units on the property until required repairs are completed. Taliafaro is actively scheduling contractors to also conduct necessary repairs in some of the habitable units.”The property manager did not, and was not required to, facilitate the evacuation of Boyd Manor residents ahead of Hurricane Ida. Swinger previously told WDSU tenants were informed of how to take part in the city’s evacuation process, and only one Boyd Manor resident chose to do so.Owners and managers of senior living facilities like Boyd Manor in New Orleans could soon have to meet new standards for emergency preparations. With guidance from city health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno, a city council committee approved an ordinance Tuesday that requires some 70 such sites to file an annual evacuation plan with the city and ensure that a point of contact is on-site throughout the duration of an emergency.The ordinance comes after the city shut down 10 senior apartment buildings after Hurricane Ida after declaring them unfit. Five residents died at those facilities.
Federal records indicate there hasn’t been an official inspection of the conditions at Boyd Manor, a 39-unit low-income senior apartment building in Algiers, since early 2016. Residents say problems such as leaks, mold and mildew were present long before Hurricane Ida, after which they claim the onsite property manager abandoned them.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pays 70% of the rent for tenants at Boyd Manor. Properties where HUD subsidizes rent are supposed to be inspected annually unless the facility has a good upkeep history, in which inspections can take place every two to three years.
Boyd Manor scored 80 out of 100 on its most recent inspection in January 2016, which is within the range to skip a year of HUD evaluation. To skip two years, a property has to score 90 or higher, but there are no records indicating Boyd Manor has been inspected since 2016.
A HUD spokesman did not explain why there haven’t been inspections at Boyd Manor over the past five years. The agency provided the following statement:
“Housing is critical to the health and safety of communities, and HUD is committed to making sure that HUD-assisted properties provide safe, healthy, and affordable housing to all residents. Now that HUD has received and reviewed the property owner’s preliminary disaster assessment following Hurricane Ida, the department will conduct an in-person site assessment in the upcoming weeks and then work with the owner on a plan for how they will make any needed fixes to the property. We expect that the property owner will uphold their commitments to residents, just as we expect of all property owners.”
Tenants at Boyd Manor went 11 days without electricity after the Aug. 29 storm. Members of the community group Algiers Proud provided food, water, ice and generator power for residents in the interim. They have also called on officials to improve conditions at the building.
A spokesperson for Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed on Sept. 24 that his Office of Elderly Affairs is conducting an investigation into “abuse” at Boyd Manor.
Boyd Manor is owned by the nonprofit National Baptist Housing and Economic Development Inc. Its chairman is local pastor Willie Gable, who has referred questions about Boyd Manor to its property manager, Nashville-based Taliafaro Inc.
Rosalind Swinger with Taliafaro provided a statement Tuesday that included an update on Boyd Manor.
“An official report is pending to determine if there was substantial flood damage,” Swinger said in the statement. “However, two units on the first floor of Boyd Manor have been deemed uninhabitable. Taliafaro provided the two residents… with assistance to relocate to alternative units on the property until required repairs are completed. Taliafaro is actively scheduling contractors to also conduct necessary repairs in some of the habitable units.”
The property manager did not, and was not required to, facilitate the evacuation of Boyd Manor residents ahead of Hurricane Ida. Swinger previously told WDSU tenants were informed of how to take part in the city’s evacuation process, and only one Boyd Manor resident chose to do so.
Owners and managers of senior living facilities like Boyd Manor in New Orleans could soon have to meet new standards for emergency preparations. With guidance from city health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno, a city council committee approved an ordinance Tuesday that requires some 70 such sites to file an annual evacuation plan with the city and ensure that a point of contact is on-site throughout the duration of an emergency.
The ordinance comes after the city shut down 10 senior apartment buildings after Hurricane Ida after declaring them unfit. Five residents died at those facilities.
Read More:HUD hasn’t inspected Boyd Manor senior apartments in Algiers for nearly 6 years
2021-10-15 18:15:00
