May 22, 2007
By MELISSA DiPANE
6 News Anchor/Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Residents of a Northeast Knoxville apartment complex have been calling 6 News to complain about the conditions.
Some residents say trash at Applewood Apartments, located at 2624 Wimpole Ave., hasn't been picked up in weeks and the grass is overgrown.
An overflowing dumpster is the first thing 6 News saw when we pulled into the complex Tuesday.
"They won't empty the trash or cut the grass. They won't fix nothing. It's just trifling," says Sylvia Johnson, one of the residents.
Johnson has lived there for five years. She says the last few months, she and her neighbors have been forced to live in filth.
"We call and they don't do nothing. We couldn't call at first the phones were off two months. They just got the phones back yesterday," Johnson says.
It's government-subsidized housing managed locally so 6 News took the problem to Knoxville's Housing and Urban Development office. Officials there blame the apartment owners, who are in California.
Now, results are on the way. Officials say the trash will be picked up Wednesday and the grass will be cut on Friday.
Another concern is the electricity stipend by management. But residents haven't received it and the power has been shut off. "You have to pay the reconnect, $45," Johnson says.
6 News checked on that problem and Knoxville's HUD office promises those utility checks soon.
Hearing all of these problems concerns a community group that helped place some of these the residents at Applewood.
"We would hope our clients live in better conditions than this," says Barbara Disney, with the Community Action Committee.
"We might as well live on our own and not have a landlord," Johnson says.
Knoxville code enforcements has received complaints on the property and officials say they will make sure the complex is cleaned up.
The department says accumulated trash and debris, overgrown vines, underbrush or grass over 12 inches high are all violations of city codes.
To make a complaint in the city, contact the neighborhood code enforcement at 215-4311.
The Knox County codes office can be reached at 215-2325.
An overflowing dumpster is the first thing 6 News saw when we pulled into the complex Tuesday.
