Prospect has been vacant for nearly two months now since the Johnstown Housing Authority initiated a mandatory notice to vacate the premises due to what they said are structural issues. Since then, residents have been relocated to different parts of the area while Prospect remains vacant with its future still unknown. The ex-residents are now forming a tenant association called the Prospect Homes People of 2023 Association.
“We are having a meeting for all the tenants of the housing because I feel like what they did to Prospect was kind of corrupt, They’re hiding something, so we’re trying to gather up all the tenants to make our voices heard. To send a statement to housing that this is wrong and it’s just not right I deeply feel like the more people that will show up, the more statement we can make.”
Earlier this month the Housing Authority released geotechnical results of Prospect that showed some minor issues with grading and drainage. In March, the authority conducted a structural survey of the buildings that showed the ceilings of the units were destined to collapse which they say was the initial reason for the decision to vacate.
“I’m afraid if they can do this to the Prospect community, they can do it to many more, Maybe if we get our voices heard and we make a statement from the tenants that are not happy where they are located. I truly believe the director of housing is hiding. I think it’s more of we don’t want to pay it, so we’ll ship you somewhere nice and cheap.”
“I’m glad that Prospect residents have been able to keep in touch and it proves the true sense of community they had as neighbors. Relocating Prospect residents was difficult and the future of our Prospect community is still unknown. We will absolutely keep our residents updated when we have something new to report.
We are currently waiting for a complete scope of repairs needed and a realistic cost estimate. We are also regularly meeting with HUD to discuss updates and will eventually determine if proceeding with repairs is realistic or if more serious redevelopment is necessary.”
The next Prospect tenant association meeting is this Saturday in Johnstown’s Central Park at 10:30am.