Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Van Drew sent a letter to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, once again calling for a federal takeover of the Atlantic City Housing Authority (the Authority). This latest letter follows reports that residents were being forced out of their homes, were unable to take their pets, and moved into hotels with no functional kitchen.  

"Once again, the Authority has displayed their utter incompetence in ensuring livable conditions for its residents, and now people are being forced to relocate to a hotel with no microwaves or cooking devices and are unable to even bring along their pets," said Congressman Van Drew. "This has become cruel and unfair and there still has been no plan effectively communicated to residents on what they should expect for this next month and if there will be any food accommodations. 

"As I have said before, HUD must take over the Authority in order to correct course. I will be joining members of the community to inspect Stanley Holmes Village and request that Secretary Fudge join us to truly understand the severity of residents' living conditions. This is a simple request and the bare minimum Washington bureaucrats can do while Atlantic City residents have been living in inhumane conditions." 

Background: 

• This week, the Authority notified dozens of Stanley Holmes Village residents that they were being forced out of their homes to a hotel for nearly a month. 
• Residents were told that they could not bring pets with them after being removed from their homes and have no working microwaves or cooking devices in their hotel rooms. 
• For the past three months, residents of the Authority have dealt with no heat, no hot water, and broken windows during the height of winter.

Click here to read the full letter.