Woman who fought off trespasser with cane among neighbors who fear for safety at senior tower

ATLANTA — People living in an Atlanta senior housing tower say they fear for their safety in their own homes.

“We’ve got people sleeping on elevators, sleeping on the porch, urinating and defecating on the stairwells,” Maggie Russell Towers resident Terry Eiland said.

Residents of Maggie Russell Towers said drug dealers and the homeless are in the building at all hours of day and night.

“They let in dope boys, the prostitutes,” resident Carstella Bullock said.

“Everybody comes from the streets and sleeps everywhere,” Jacquelyn Webb said.

Maggie Russell Tower is Section 202 housing in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood.

That means residents’ rents are subsidized by the federal government which provides the building’s owner funding for “supportive housing for very low-income elderly persons.”

Rena Forbes told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that she used her cane to fight off a trespasser who charged her in the lobby.

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“I’m older. I don’t need to be fighting, but I’m not going to let anybody hurt me either,” Forbes said.

Residents told Gray that they have been complaining of dangerous and unsafe conditions for months to the management company, Columbia Residential.

They also submitted a petition with nearly 100 signatures to their elected representatives on the City Council and in the state legislature.

“It’s a situation that’s out of control,” Democratic state Sen. Nan Orrock said.

After residents reached out to her, Orrock got in touch with Gray.

“They are paid to provide safe secure sanitary housing. They (Columbia Residential) are failing to do that,” Orrock said.

Columbia Residential told us in a statement:

“The safety and security for residents of Maggie Russell Tower apartment community is very important to the property owner and the property management team.”

Since federal dollars help fund the building, Gray contacted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD also sent a statement, saying:

“Maggie Russell Towers has a patrol service that is at the property from night to morning, weekends, and holidays. HUD will discuss tenant safety concerns with Columbia Residential and will take all necessary actions to ensure the security procedures meet the needs of the residents as well as the property.”

Columbia Residential said it added on-site security starting on Labor Day. That security is there in the evenings Monday through Thursday and 24 hours on the weekends.

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