Dozens of Shaw Eviction Suits Dismissed
In mid-March, residents of the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA in Shaw, a refuge for abused and mentally ill women, got a rude surprise. Vision Realty Management, which recently started managing the building, filed suit against 54 residents of the 116-room facility, claiming they owed thousands of dollars in back rent. Most of the women protested, saying they were paid up.
Now, months later, it seems they were right. The overwhelming majority of the suits, says Rebecca Lindhurst, an attorney with nonprofit Bread for the City, have not held up in court. "We have done an exhaustive search of all the cases that came out of that initial wave of suits, and according to my findings, it looks like everything except maybe five cases were dismissed," she says.
Sam Lowery, a Vision Realty partner, admits there were some recordkeeping issues on his company's end.
"When [tenants] produced the evidence that they'd paid based on evidence that we didn't have in our possession," Lowery says, "we asked that those cases be dismissed, and rightfully so."
"A few residents" still owe money, he says, "but we're working with them."
Alex Padro, a Shaw advisory neighborhood commissioner who's been involved in the dispute since March, claims Vision took advantage of the fragile state of some of its tenants by suing without proper cause.
"The fact that you had a new management company…come in, and records that were in disarray, prompted them to overreact," he says. "It was very cavalier, very unprofessional, and demeaning [to the YWCA residents]."
4:28 pm
That is cold to say the least. A lot of businesses in DC are in dissaray.
9:03 am
Hmmmm ---- go after everybody who might have ever owed me something, and sue those who haven't kept proof of payment. Who would be the least likely to be able to fight back? I could say "oops- sorry" to the unexpected few that kept reciepts ---- but look at all I could get from the others by shear bluff.
Sounds to me like some charletons, scammers, flim-flammers, and con men have "legitimate" offices and business liscences.
5:07 pm
The Phyllis Wheatley Tenants' Care Association, Inc. was established 5/4/07 to protect ourselves from our own OfficeStaff\Board of Directors and Vision Mangement. The the same tenants sleeping on the floor are without beds (could be your mother) contrary to ABC NEWS information that 16 new beds were coming in to help these women. The building is still bug infested and a patch-up-job of covering up mold and meldew is in place. DCRA gave them 30 days to fix all the problems. How would you like your mother on the floor and bitten up for 30 days. Sounds like a concentration camp(sleep deprevation)? Disabled women back from foot surgery couldn't use handicap shower because it was out of order and she was refused a key to the 3rd floor handicap shower stating it was not an emergency even though this was the 1st time in a week she was able to walk to take a shower. This was an office staff member refusing her and I personally called to see if the staff member would changer her mind and she hung up on me. God Help Us!
5:14 pm
Phyllis Wheatley YWCA Office Manager, Social Worker and Social Worker's Supervisor visited a tenant to encourage her to keep her room clean and told her they saw her on TV protesting and warned her to be careful, that she could get the building shut down and then she would have a place to live. This tenant is disabled and came to me scared and worried that she had done the wrong thing to protest for her rights. She asked me if she could get in trouble. This tenant is disabled. This is flagrent abuse of power to intimidate a disabled person who is vulnerable.
5:14 pm
correction: She would have no place to live.
10:53 am
Dec. 19, 2009 WOW! Still no heat in the TV room next to the Lobby. Elderly and Disabled women have to wear winter coats to sit and watch a large TV for the women in the Phylis Wheatley YWCA at 901 Rhode Island Ave, Washington, DC. I even emailed President Elect Obama at that time to tell him of the many serious problems at the YWCA. Also notifyied NCCA many times. Still, today serious problems still exists. Wasn't it President Obama's Mother who didn't get proper medical care. Please, someone go over there and check the heat. It seems my requests fall on deaf ears? Is it because I'm termed "mentally disabled" and therfore no one will listen? How is it that year after year no heat is in that room? Who's hands are dirty at DCRA? I guess someone wants to keep these "undesirables" out of the lobby ares and in their very small rooms. Isn't that discrimination? WOW! P.S. The TV is turned off at 10pm in an "independant living" housing facility? That"s the change in the "New" MISSION statement from the Phylis Wheatley YWCA. Please call the following number "anyone" Phone # 202 667 9100 and complain to the new President and Board of Directors. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to those that call and advocate for these woemn.
8:21 pm
Happy New Year. Still no heat in the lobby and lounge. I talked with an elderly women today who said it was too cold to down and watch TV and social with others in the lounge...she said 0 temperature last night. That would be 1/2/2010 that she was talking about no heat in the lounge area. God help these women, cause no one else is....what does it take...will I have to resort to facebook with a video?