Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal are asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support the decommissioning and demolition of the Charles F. Greene Homes public housing complex.
The city of Bridgeport is working in partnership with Park City Communities, previously known as the Bridgeport Housing Authority, to vacate the complex at 98 Highland Ave., located in “The Hollow” section of the city. In its request, the city cited “challenging living conditions” that include recurring violence and damaged elevators that it said prevent many residents, especially those who are disabled, from leaving their homes.
There are believed to be about 700 residents living in the Greene Homes”™ 269 HUD units.
“The living conditions at Greene Homes are unacceptable,” Ganim said. “I made a commitment to improving the quality of life and public housing in Bridgeport and sometimes that means building, but in this instance it means tearing down. I have fought for the Bridgeport residents who have lived in these unsuitable conditions for a long time. Our residents deserve a clean and safe place to call home for their children and families.”
“The tenants of the Bridgeport Housing Authority have a right to first-class, safe and sanitary housing,” Park City Communities Board of Commissioners Chair Cowlis Andrews said. “The board will focus to make this a reality and work with the city to accomplish it for the residents of Greene Homes.”
Ganim and Park City Communities are seeking a firm with expertise to handle the decommissioning application, with the RFP made available last week.
