JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson stopped by the troubled Eureka Gardens Apartments on Sunday while he was campaigning ahead of the August primary.
Grayson called the living conditions there, "tragic."
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Grayson's visit comes after an I-Team investigation into the deplorable living conditions at the apartment complex. It made headlines for months and has drawn the attention of local and national leaders.
Today, it was Grayson - a U.S. Senate candidate - seeing Eureka Gardens up close.
You can see mold, you can see rust; the air conditioning doesn't work," Grayson said. "The people here are suffering."
Grayson walked the grounds, speaking with residents and getting an inside look at what he too calls "deplorable conditions."
Reverend Richard Hamlet - the founder of Global Ministries Foundation, which owns the complex - has come under fire for the unsafe living conditions. Grayson didn't hold back with his thoughts on Hamlet.
"What we're seeing is a whole large neighborhood, community, that's been victimized by an absentee slumlord," Grayson said. "The slumlord is showing no real interest in taking care of this community so the result of that is that people live in terrible conditions."
Grayson spoke with residents about options they may have for finding somewhere else to live. He told News4Jax he considers it a priority to get people living at Eureka Gardens the help they need.
Residents at Eureka Gardens have received some outside help in recent months. Grayson said he'll continue his efforts to assist those living there.