WASHINGTON – One year after the president of Eureka Gardens' tenant association called the I-TEAM about deplorable conditions at the Westside apartment complex, Tracey Grant prepares to testify in Washington, D.C., Thursday before a Senate subcommittee considering changes in the inspection process for federally subsidized housing.
Grant is there at the invitation of Sen. Marco Rubio, who put Eureka Gardens in the national spotlight and has proposed changing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's rules on inspections.
"This isn't a Democrat thing or a Republican thing. They are human. They are people," Grant said.
One year ago this week, Grant showed News4Jax mold, mildew, crumbling stairs and gas leaks.
"We became aware of this because of news reports from your station, and then people started calling our office about it," Rubio said. "I think it is a high-profile example of abuses in Section 8 housing in this country."
Rubio also will testify about what he's seen during visits to Eureka Gardens.
"I wonder how many more cases are out there and people just don't come forward," Rubio said. "This is about the morality of the conditions people are living in, and this is about taxpayer money."
Global Ministries Foundation -- the company that owns Eureka Gardens, along with five other housing complexes in Jacksonville and dozens more around the country -- has collected tens of millions of dollars in federal subsidies. The company and its president are under federal investigation, in part due to Rubio's call for such inquiries.
"Where is the money? What did they do with it? Did they cheat their tax status as a not-for-profit? These are serious things to look at, and if there is wrongdoing, they should be prosecuted and punished," Rubio said. "I'm confident there are people at HUD that want to improve the system. But what we do know is we have bad inspectors, like you would in any entity. We have people that are complacent in their jobs. One thing I want is for HUD to get rid of bad inspectors."
Grant, who is in Washington for the first time, said she's nervous about testifying in Congress, but hopes her story can bring real change to the nation's public housing system.
"Right now my head is screaming and my stomach is in knots," Grant said. "I haven't cried yet, so I've done good."
Weeks after HUD's contracted inspectors gave Eureka Gardens a passing score of 85 out of 100, city inspectors found mold in 80 percent of the 400 units, gas and carbon monoxide leaks and crumbing staircases.
Global Ministries has listed Eureka Gardens and many of its other properties for sale, and federal and city authorities are vetting a potential buyer.
"We can't have slumlords reigning over us," Grant said. "I don't care that we living in public housing, we have to live decent, too."
News4Jax will be with Grant and Rubio at Thursday's hearing beginning at 10 a.m.