Mayor calls inspectors to Eureka Gardens; Sen. Rubio wants criminal probe
Florida senator calls owner, Global Ministries Foundation, 'slumlord'
By
Lynnsey Gardner - Investigative reporter
Updated: 3:41 PM, May 13, 2016
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After the Florida senator who has been vocal in criticism of the Eureka Gardens housing complex walked the property and talked with tenants Friday afternoon, he said he may ask for a criminal investigation of its owner, calling Global Ministries Foundation "a slumlord."
Sen. Marco Rubio was joined by Mayor Lenny Curry and City Councilman Garrett Dennis on a tour of the subsidized apartment complex on Jacksonville's Westside, getting a firsthand look at the problems at the troubled subsidized housing complex.
The Rev. Richard Hamlet and other representatives of the property owner, Global Ministries Foundation, were also on hand.
After the tour, Curry ask the city's Code Enforcement Division to come out and investigate safety concerns the group found.
Rubio arrived about 12:30 p.m. After meeting with local officials and Tenant Association President Tracy Grant, they began walking the property, at one point Rubio told GMF representative, "What you've done is horrifying."
After his tour, Rubio was outraged, even calling for a possible criminal investigation of Global Ministries, which owns five other properties in Jacksonville and dozens more around the country.
"When I get back to Washington Monday, my hope is we'll have all those properties examined and these people put out of business because what they do is outrageous," Rubio said. "It's a slumlord, pure and simple, and my hope is we can even get the Justice Department interested."
Curry call the tenants heroes who fought to get living conditions at the complex exposed.
Curry call the tenants heroes who fought to get living conditions at the complex exposed.
Friday morning, signs went up at the complex reading "Restoring a vital community asset providing safe and affordable housing for Jacksonville families."
"Interestingly enough, when word got out that we'd be visiting here, within 48 hours a bunch of work crews showed up to do some cosmetic work," Rubio said. "Despite that, I just left an apartment that hasn't been painted in 13 years. We visited another apartment where there's no functional window. ... If there was a fire, this child could get trapped in there."
The I-TEAM, which has reported for months on the deplorable living conditions at the housing complex, learned last week that all of GMF's properties in Jacksonville have been listed for sale.
How's that possible when trump is going win 