88.5 WFDD - Unsafe Haven

Congolese refugee Isaac Isaya lives with eight family members in a three-bedroom apartment at Summit-Cone. During his visit there, WFDD's David Ford saw rats in the kitchen, a gaping hole in the kitchen ceiling, and bathroom walls covered in black mold. DAVID FORD/WFDD It was just over six months ago when a tragedy amplified deep issues within the Greensboro community. A kitchen fire quickly swept through a low rent apartment there, claiming the lives of five young children, siblings who were refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the circumstances leading up to the fire live on in the fractured lives of the surviving parents, and in their adopted community. This is “Unsafe Haven,” a 30-minute documentary produced by WFDD’s David Ford, who reports on what happened in the aftermath of the fire and the questions that remain.      Story does not include AP content #unsafe haven #wfdd #podcast #affordable housing #refugees #drc #apartment fire Normal Tweet

More than 400 visitors gathered in the main sanctuary of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Greensboro to say goodbye to five refugee children who died after a May 12 kitchen fire at the Summit-Cone apartment complex. DAVID FORD/WFDD On an early morning in May, a kitchen fire swept through a low-income apartment in Greensboro. Inside, a refugee family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—five young siblings and their father—slept. The mother was working her night shift many miles away. All of the children, aged one to eight years old, perished in the blaze, leaving their parents to grieve. But they have not grieved alone. The final installment of our series “Unsafe Haven,” surveys citizens all across the community whose lives will be forever changed. "Homegoing Service" At the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro, a Homegoing Service is getting underway. African mourners from across the region cross the Mt. Zion Baptist Church parking lot to attend a Homegoing Service for five young Congolese siblings who perished in a May 12th kitchen fire at the Summit-Cone apartments. DAVID FORD/WFDD Mourners walk slowly across the sprawling parking lot, a sea of colorful, traditional African dresses against the grey, overcast sky. The sound of Swahili being translated into English blares out across the asphalt from loudspeakers attached to the enormous modern church, welcoming new arrivals.    Many of them now call North Carolina home, but they come from Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere on the African continent. More than 400 visitors, family members, and friends enter the church, led by the parents of the deceased children, Mugabo Emmanuel and Faraha Lucy. They gather close together on pews facing five small caskets holding the three little boys and two little girls who perished in the fire. But this service is a celebration of their lives—their journey to heaven—and soon the auditorium is filled with song. "It Changed Our View Of Housing" Immigration advocates, volunteers, and nonprofits that worked directly with these refugees were appalled by what happened to the family.  “Because of our work with them, I think it impacted not only us emotionally—obviously, we were devastated—but also the way I think we will work with the families that we host on our campus, especially helping them, supporting them vet off-campus housing I think more diligently,” says Every Campus A Refuge founder Diya Abdo. “And really, it just sort of changed our view of housing in Greensboro. It didn’t occur to me that it could be this bad.” Before the still-mourning Congolese family left Summit-Cone, dozens of local African refugees gathered near their burned-out apartment for a healing ceremony. The sounds of terrified screams are replaced by singing voices ringing out across the courtyard. Since the fire, the broader community has rallied around the family. The Greensboro Housing Coalition in partnership with the Community Foundation provided financial assistance to help the parents and their extended relatives relocate. Coalition Director Brett Byerly says it’s work that needed to be done. "Imagine the emotional aspect of seeing that every day. I have to walk past this apartment where five children that I’m related to died, and how that affects my mental health and stability," says Byerly. "So, it was important for the Housing Coalition to work to get those families into a place where they can kind of grieve and work on what they’re going to do next in their life and where they want to go and where they want to be." "A Great Outpouring Of Love" In May, local African refugees and advocates gathered near the burned-out apartment at Summit-Cone for a healing ceremony with song in the courtyard. Photo courtesy: Veronica Bryant. Former Rankin Elementary School social worker Emily Wright counseled two of the children who died in the Summit-Cone fire. She grieved with the family, and they entrusted her with arranging the funeral service along with their Pastor Jean de Dieu Munyambabazi. “I wanted him to be a guide for respecting their cultural norms and traditions regarding funerals and funeral ceremonies,” says Wright. “Many, many people came out to assist the family at that time. Greensboro had a great outpouring of love and care for this family during the time of the death of their children.” Faith communities throughout the city upped their commitment to supporting Summit-Cone refugee families: aiding in relocation efforts from the condemned buildings, settling families into new apartments, providing essentials, and raising donations. A Greensboro House Fire GoFundMe page set up on their behalf netted more than $55,000 dollars. And church groups, educators, and individuals volunteered daycare for young children of refugee parents who often work long shifts far from home. "A Call To Compassion" Greensboro church leaders like First Baptist’s Alan Sherouse spoke to their congregations about the deadly fire. Sherouse focused on the poor living conditions of many of the city’s refugees, and the moral obligation the community has to right this wrong. He says that’s what a shared faith means and what the New Testament is all about. “There’s this building call to compassion that culminates when Jesus says, ‘When you welcome the stranger, you are welcoming me,’” says Sherouse. “And so, treat every stranger as though they were Christ himself is the call, is the theological underpinning. As a Christian and a person of faith, that needs to guide me in terms of how I view the stranger or my newest neighbors here.” Sherouse spoke at the Homegoing Service for the Congolese children who died in the fire. The gathering was intended to be a celebration of young lives, and yet, lining the front of the stage are five small, white caskets, each adorned with bright yellow flowers; a startling reminder of the horrible loss. “Part of my response has been to carefully consider all of the dynamics that led to this moment, because if we dismiss it only as an accident, that allows us to set it aside as though there’s nothing we can do about it,” says Sherouse. “And I feel that there are a lot of factors that lead to a tragedy like this that we need to consider carefully as a community.” Congolese refugee Louis Mashengo, a close friend of the family whose children died, says there’s one question that keeps him up at night.   "What can we do to promote the refugee community?" Mashengo asks. “Among us we have lawyers. Among us we have doctors. Among us we have pastors. We have musicians. We have draftsmen. Okay. But we need to promote it to another level.”  In some parts of Africa, the traditional greeting is “How are the children?” The welcoming community of Greensboro is still working toward the hoped-for reply: “All the children are well.” Story does not include AP content #greensboro #congolese #refugees #funeral #community #fire #affordable housing #choir #song #unsafe haven Human Interest Normal Tweet

City of Greensboro Interim Division Manager Mark Wayman consults with Code Enforcement Officer Terri Buchanan. DAVID FORD/WFDD This week, we’ve been reporting on the aftermath of a tragic fire that spread through a low-rent Greensboro apartment earlier this year, killing five young refugee siblings. Their family was placed there by a resettlement agency tasked with finding safe, affordable housing for new North Carolinians. But as the number of low-cost rentals has dwindled here, safe and affordable is becoming increasingly rare. For this chapter of our series "Unsafe Haven," WFDD’s David Ford surveys the Gate City’s response to a housing crisis that’s been years in the making. “We Can’t Afford To Be Biased” Code enforcement officer for the city of Greensboro Terri Buchanan is following up on repairs that she requested a landlord make to a small, two-bedroom rental house. That’s how it works: a tenant files a complaint with the city, and if warranted, they send out people like Buchanan to inspect. Even though this property owner lives out of town, Buchanan says he’s been extremely responsive. He’s gone above and beyond in resolving the roughly dozen or so code violations that needed to be addressed, the only conflicts arising when contractors he’s hired have cut corners, and they’re easily resolved. City code enforcement officer Terri Buchanan inspects recently installed replacement siding used to cover an entry point for rodents. DAVID FORD/WFDD Other landlords, she says, consistently fail to meet even minimum standards.  “We have to be so careful, and we can’t afford to be biased with someone. We can’t afford to let our emotions or our opinions enter in and we don’t," says Buchanan. “That’s one of our strong points as a team. We may grumble amongst ourselves, but we cannot let those opinions enter into the inspection and the process.” Buchanan acknowledges that this even-handed approach can be frustrating, particularly for the affordable housing advocates, and thousands of low-income renters throughout the city of Greensboro who want bad actors held accountable. But Buchanan contends that the city’s reasoning is sound.  “I think that’s been an asset to everybody and eventually helps get landlords back on track if they’ve lost their way, without really pointing fingers at anybody,” she says. But there are many who argue it doesn’t work. Case in point? The Summit-Cone apartment complex near the intersection of Summit Avenue and Cone Boulevard. City inspectors came to investigate living conditions in the sprawling 42-unit complex following the deadly fire there, and after several tenant complaints surfaced in a petition. While there, code enforcement officers discovered 466 code violations. It’s the second time in five years this property has been condemned, so how does it keep happening? "A Tool In Our Toolbox"  To find out about one contributing factor, we have to rewind the clock, when state laws changed that made it more difficult for the city to prevent the abuses from happening in the first place. Specifically, the Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy (RUCO).  Mayor Nancy Vaughan says RUCO was groundbreaking in holding more landlords accountable, and it served as a model for other cities. “We were able to go in and do proactive inspections of units before people rented them,” says Vaughan. “And then the legislature took that away not only from Greensboro, who pioneered that legislation, but from the entire state which took away one of the tools in our toolbox.” So, by 2012 RUCO was no more. Brett Byerly with the Greensboro Housing Coalition laments the loss as well, but admits the program also ruffled feathers. City nuisance contractor Bruce Glass (far) boards up a missing window on a condemned rental in East Greensboro. DAVID FORD/WFDD  “Philosophically, a lot of it had to do with real estate lobbies feeling like they were being pushed on too hard and overregulated,” says Byerly. “And I get it. Maybe one of the weaknesses of RUCO was that it was an across-the-board inspection program. "So, we’re spending a lot of time inspecting what investors refer to as A and B Class properties. And A and B class properties by definition don’t generally need to be inspected, because the people living in A and B Class properties, if their owner landlord is not taking care of the property, they leave.” Byerly says that, meanwhile, people in C Class properties, without $1,500 in their pocket for a deposit plus the first month’s rent, have no ability to vote with their feet. They’re stuck. With RUCO gone, city code inspectors were invited to investigate properties only after receiving complaints from residents, or petitions—as was the case at Summit-Cone. After inspections, problems are identified to the owners who are then given two months or more to correct them. If no action is taken, the building can be condemned as a last resort, followed by civil penalties and fines levied to further entice them to comply. If the owners still don’t make repairs, it can be pricey, with escalating reinspection fees eventually totaling $400 per unit, per month. And the last resort: demolition. “Are We Doing Enough?” When buildings are condemned, people can’t live in them. That just makes the dearth of affordable housing even worse, says City Councilman Justin Outling. “The fact is there are 26,000 households in our community where people are not able to afford the price they pay for housing.” With regard to making up the affordable housing gap, City Councilman Justin Outling says, "We have to go really far, really fast." DAVID FORD/WFDD  That’s why, after negotiations with housing advocates and real estate officials, the city passed a $25 million bond referendum to support more affordable housing. That’s helping to fund a 176-unit apartment community in East Greensboro called Cottage Grove. It’s being refurbished with a $400,000 investment from the city for energy efficient upgrades. Then in October, the City Council passed a new housing ordinance. Outling says it will target substandard properties, like the Summit-Cone apartments.  “That property was in compliance as of 2016,” says Outling. “We know now, 2018, a mere two years later, it’s woefully out of compliance. This revision to the housing ordinance will help address situations like that one to ensure that properties stay in compliance for a longer period of time.” Outling says, that unlike RUCO, this ordinance allows the city to inspect all units of an apartment complex where just one serious threat to safety was found. It also gives them permission to follow up with multiple, rollover inspections there over the course of one year without having to start back at the beginning: scheduling, notifications, hearings, and demolitions.  “Are we doing enough?” asks Outling. “The answer is, ‘No, but we’re making tremendous progress.’ If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together. On this topic, we have to go really far, really fast.” Construction at Cottage Grove seems to be moving along at a good clip, with a move-in date scheduled for some time this spring. Story does not include AP content #greensboro #affordable housing #code inspectors #rental unit certificate of occupancy #ruco #ordinance #bond referendum #unsafe haven #real estate lobbies #greensboro housing coalition Health & Safety Politics & Government Normal Tweet

After the Summit-Cone apartment complex was condemned, tenants there, including this group of African refugees, were given 30 days to find a new place to live. At the landlord fair, they listen to an interpreter explain renter agreements of prospective property managers. DAVID FORD/WFDD Earlier this year, a tragic kitchen fire at the Summit-Cone apartments in Greensboro killed five young refugee children. In a five-part series, "Unsafe Haven," we examine the lives of refugees who call the Gate City home. We reported previously on the property management company that oversees those apartments, Arco Realty, and its history of code violations. In this installment, we survey the work of local agencies tasked with resettling these new North Carolinians, and the challenges they face in search of safe, affordable housing. "Lack Of Federal Support" Ali Al-Khasrachi, his wife Marwa, and their three sons are Iraqi refugees living in Greensboro. Al-Khasrachi ran a design shop in Baghdad, but after surviving two assassination attempts, he and his family were forced to flee. They arrived at Piedmont Triad International Airport last year with limited English, and even less knowledge of their surroundings. Their story is like so many refugees who come here. Guilford undergraduate volunteer Katie Claggett tutors 7th grader Abdullah Al-Khasrachi once a week for ECAR. DAVID FORD/WFDD Thankfully, they have support. Refugee resettlement agencies and their partners are with these families from day one –organizations like Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR). Guilford College undergraduate Katie Claggett tutors 7th-grader Abdullah Al-Khasrachi once a week. “I think the more we can connect with people who come from other places who might speak other languages, who might look different from you is most important,” says Claggett. “And it’s not only enriching to your life, it’s enriching to the people that you can interact with, and it ultimately just makes communities stronger.” Non-profit organizations, including ECAR and others like it, greet refugees at the airport, and provide temporary housing, as well as community, material, and sociocultural support, like driving them to appointments and arranging for vaccinations.  Many refugees arrive in the U.S. penniless, unable to speak English, and heavily reliant on these groups to help them navigate their new surroundings. ECAR founder Diya Abdo says that Greensboro has been welcoming refugees for forty years. During that time, she says it’s developed a strong infrastructure for supporting newcomers, especially given the city’s small size. But she adds support at the national level is a different story. “It allows for a very short period of time for adjustment—three months,” says Abdo. “It provides very limited financial support for people to gain self-sufficiency. And so, I think we need to look at the refugee resettlement program in general and the kinds of support that refugees are getting from the federal government.” "One Challenge Looms Over The Rest" To make up for the lack in federal assistance, resettlement agencies have to get creative, says North Carolina African Services Coalition Executive Director Million Mekonnen. North Carolina African Services Coalition Executive Director Million Mekonnen describes resettlement as being "a private/public partnership." DAVID FORD/WFDD “We always say that resettlement is not a one-agency job,” says Mekonnen. “We have to bring everybody together so that this is a private/public partnership in the first place. And so, that is really helping people in the long term to assimilate into the community so they can be self-sufficient and independent.” But even after leveraging community-wide support systems: local faith organizations, colleges, and advocates, one challenge looms over the rest: housing.   “It’s very tough,” he says. “I don’t know how you can put safe and affordable together. Resources are very limited and we don’t find that many landlords that make an exception.” Even when landlords are willing to meet a refugee’s bottom line, there may be trade-offs.   "No Red Flags" This was the case at the Summit-Cone apartments—the site of the deadly fire. Roughly two years ago that complex, run by Arco Realty, was condemned, later renovated, and eventually brought back up to code. Holly Sienkiewicz is the research director for UNC-Greensboro’s Center for New North Carolinians. There they provide additional support to refugees once resettlement services expire. She says Arco needed to fill units and saw an opportunity. “They contacted resettlement agencies offering a discount for refugees to be placed there,” says Sienkiewicz. “They essentially waved the security deposits, and they gave them one month’s rent free which is essentially saving each client $1,000 dollars. That’s a pretty big deal when refugees come with such limited cash assistance available.” Sienkiewicz says agency walk-throughs revealed no red flags and leases were signed. In August, all 42 Summit-Cone apartment units were condemned after Arco Realty property managers neglected to resolve 466 code violations in time. DAVID FORD/WFDD But following the fire, inspectors were brought back in to Summit-Cone where hundreds of code violations were discovered—rodent infestations, leaking pipes, faulty wiring—and the complex was once again condemned. "System Of Holes" Andrew Young was a UNCG community research fellow at the Center for New North Carolinians for several years. He says what’s lacking among the various resettlement agencies is not goodwill, but something more basic. “At a public meeting before city council members and agencies, one of the refugees questioned the system,” says Young. “He stood up and quietly said, ‘I only have one question and that is: before refugees are settled here, is there any coordination?’ And the room went quiet.” A quick snapshot of what these agencies are up against spells out the challenges: the immigration debate, funding cuts, and recently lowered caps on the number of refugees allowed into the country, which tightens their purse strings even more. Young says local government officials need to develop a bigger game plan, beginning with affordable housing. “It seems to be more of a system of holes rather than real structure,” he says. “I mean if you imagine Swiss cheese, and it’s a lot of holes. Well, I believe we have a system which is mostly holes.” "Landlord Fair" But there are efforts underway, and now there’s a renewed sense of urgency.  A large, brightly lit lobby is filled with African refugees, many in colorful native garb, and some accompanied by interpreters. Sitting behind folding tables are representatives from Legal Aid, Guilford County Schools, Community Care Network, and others. But most are here to find a place to live. Greensboro Housing Coalition’s Brett Byerly, along with Guilford College Bonner Scholars and others helped organize this event: the city’s first landlord fair.   Across the street from Summit-Cone, dozens of tenants--many Congolese refugees--attend the city's landlord fair in search of affordable housing. DAVID FORD/WFDD Byerly says the need for affordable housing has never been greater. After the Summit-Cone apartments across the street were condemned, these families were given just four weeks to relocate. “We’re saying to people, ‘We will give your landlord $1,500 for your first month’s rent and your security deposit if you can just find a place to move into,’" says Byerly. “And they’re not coming back to us because they can’t find a place to move into. That really tells you a piece of the story. There’s money sitting on the table that they’re not able to use because the affordable housing stock is just not there.” By affordable, he means 3-bedroom units for about $800 a month or less. For the Al-Khasrachi family—just three young boys and their parents—finding this small apartment in Greensboro was challenging, but doable, says Diya Abdo. “But I’ve noticed that the folks that we’ve hosted on our campus from the DRC or Uganda tend to have larger families, multigenerational families,” says Abdo. “And affordable housing for larger families can be very, very hard to find. So, finding a house, or an apartment for nine members, ten members, eleven members, is incredibly difficult.” Difficult, but critical for the well-being of North Carolina’s newest neighbors, and for their ability to thrive while they work to make this city a home. Story does not include AP content #resettlement agencies #ecar #every campus a refuge #guilford college #greensboro housing coalition #african services coalition #uncg center for new north carolinians #safe and affordable #unsafe haven Health & Safety Human Interest Normal Tweet

This vacated rental property on Huffman Street in Greensboro is owned by Irene Agapion-Martinez. The photo reveals several code violations including a crumbling porch foundation and a missing porch roof pillar. DAVID FORD/WFDD In May, a kitchen fire at a low-rent apartment in Greensboro claimed the lives of five refugee children—siblings from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After months of investigation, officials determined that “unattended cooking” was the likely cause, but the tragedy led to dozens of tenants stepping forward to share their stories of what they described as landlord neglect at the Summit-Cone apartments. The 42-unit complex is owned by Bill, Sophia and Basil Agapion, and managed by Arco Realty. In the second installment of our five-part series “Unsafe Haven,” WFDD’s David Ford investigates Arco, and the Greensboro family that has run the company throughout its 60-year history. “Long List Of Code Violations” In August, 466 code violations were found at Summit-Cone, and the entire complex was condemned. It was the second condemnation in less than five years. DAVID FORD/WFDD Every home in Greensboro—owner or tenant-occupied—must meet minimum housing standards: safe, sanitary, and fit for human habitation. But often even those basic thresholds are not being met. At a routine home inspection, Mark Wayman with the city's Code Compliance Division is checking out a property in East Greensboro on a tree-lined narrow street, dotted with small rental homes in various states of disrepair. He points to work being done to secure windows of the home.  “For the safety of the neighborhood and also to protect what’s there, we’re going to go ahead and do that," says Wayman. "The owners had more than twelve days to take care of this and they have not.” Wayman adds that the missing windows and an open crawl space are ideal entry points for rodents, children, and homeless adults. He scans the scene and ticks off a long list of code violations including a crumbling front porch foundation, gaping roofline holes, vandalized electrical panel, suspect roof, missing handrails—and those are just on the home’s exterior.   “It would take five minor violations or one major violation to start a case,” says Wayman. “And I think we definitely have one here, just at a glance.” Coincidentally, the day after this home inspection tour, Wayman called to say that the owner of the small rental we visited just happens to be Irene Agapion-Martinez, of Arco Realty. She’s also the property management representative for the Summit-Cone apartments, the site of the deadly fire where nearly 500 minimum housing standards code violations were discovered after the fire. The entire complex was condemned, the second time in less than five years. “A Reputation For Cutting Corners” Built in the early 60s near the busy intersection of Summit Avenue and Cone Boulevard, the apartments are not much to look at: nine brick, barracks-style, two-story buildings spread out across one long block along Summit. But back in 1963, just a year after construction, to young real estate lawyer Bill Agapion, it looked like a money-maker. Roughly ten years earlier he formed AAA Realty—later Arco Realty—in a converted bank building on South Elm Street. Specializing in low-income housing for people with very few options, he catered to those with poor credit, recent evictions, and the underemployed, and at Summit-Cone, immigrants and refugees. Arco’s stated mission: provide quality, affordable rentals. But by the 1970s the Agapions' reputation for cutting corners was already well established. The Summit-Cone apartment complex is located at the busy intersection of Summit Ave. and Cone Blvd. Apartment G (the site of the deadly fire) is pictured far right with plywood boards. DAVID FORD/WFDD When a landlord’s property fails to meet minimum standards, the buildings can be condemned, resulting in fines, civil penalties, reinspection fees, orders by the city to repair, and in extreme cases, demolition. Bill Agapion has a well-documented history of delaying fine payments, postponing necessary repairs, and bringing his apartments up to minimum code just in time to avoid demolition, says journalist Eric Ginsburg.  “This is a landlord who is not doing anything proactive to make sure people are living in safe conditions,” says Ginsburg. Three years ago, he reported for Triad City Beat that the Agapion family, through their hundreds of Greensboro properties, had accumulated nearly $350,000 in outstanding fines. “This is someone who does the minimal amount that they have to, and they only make those minimal changes when they’re caught by the city,” says Ginsburg. “And that has a huge cost for the rest of us.” Ginsburg says neighborhoods and the city pay for blighted apartments: depressing property values, the ability to attract new employers, and the jobs that come with them. But for Sudanese refugee, and former Summit-Cone tenant Juma Juma, inaction on the part of his property manager, Arco Realty, led to months of frustration and anger. Forced to relocate from his Summit-Cone apartment after it was condemned, Juma Juma waits in line at the Greensboro Housing Coalition-sponsored Landlord Fair. DAVID FORD/WFDD “The landlord was not so courageous to come and see what’s inside to evaluate either [if] the light is working or the fire detectors or the water either it is leaking or not leaking,” says Juma. WFDD reached out to the Agapions on multiple occasions to request interviews for this story. Those requests were denied, but finally a written statement was provided through their attorney’s office. "Many criticisms we currently face are not factual or do not account for complicating factors. Regardless, we will continue to work to provide our residents with safe, affordable housing, to improve and maintain the properties we manage, and to serve our community as good corporate citizens." It goes on to reiterate that the Greensboro Fire Department concluded that the fire was a result of unattended cooking by tenants. For city officials and inspectors who have dealt with the Agapions over the years, accruing multiple violations and delaying repairs until the last possible moment is a familiar pattern, but not an illegal one. Former Greensboro Chief Code Enforcement Officer Beth Benton describes her office’s relationship with Irene Agapion-Martinez as cooperative.   “From my perspective, if you own hundreds and hundreds of properties, you’re going to have violations,” says Benton. “That just kind of comes with the territory.” Benton blames some of the backlog in tenant complaints in apartments primarily populated with refugees on language barriers, education, and the process itself. “They don’t realize that they have another option, that they can call us if the landlord is not being responsive,” she says. “The other thing [is] a lot of immigrants and refugees settling here often see code officers—we are a form of government, we are a form of police. So, we are not welcome. It creates fear from where they’re from as political refugees." “Unwanted Headlines” And the code violations continue to accumulate. Members of the Agapion family are currently being sued by the widow of a plumber electrocuted while working in the crawl space of a rental property managed by Arco Realty. The suit alleges that the electrical system had bare wires and was dangerously below code. Bill, Sophia and Basil Agapion responded in nearly identical filings denying those claims. Decade after decade, the Agapions have made unwanted newspaper headlines: 2006: Judge signs city order to demolish several Arco homes on Guerrant Street. 1992: Dozens of refugees from Vietnam settle at Summit-Cone apartments, which had been condemned and vacant. 1987: Survey shows 200 of the city’s 250 boarded-up houses are owned by Agapions. And the paper trail dates as far back as 1970, when hundreds of AAA Realty tenants staged a 3-month rent strike. Some marched past the Agapion’s South Elm office holding signs that read: “When does this city plan to do something?” Story does not include AP content #arco realty #greensboro #summit-cone #agapion #housing #unsafe haven Health & Safety Normal Tweet

Today, the only reminder of the May 12th fire is the charred brick facade and soot-stained pillars of Apartment G at Summit-Cone. DAVID FORD/WFDD It was just over six months ago when a tragedy amplified deep issues within the Greensboro community. A kitchen fire quickly swept through a low-rent apartment, claiming the lives of five young children - siblings who were refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the circumstances leading up to the fire live on in the fractured lives of the surviving parents and in their adopted community. Our series, "Unsafe Haven," looks at what happened and the unanswered questions that remain. "A Charred Brick Façade" The back-alley parking lot of the sprawling, spartan, 42-unit Summit-Cone apartment complex is riddled with deep potholes and broken glass. Cars wind their way between overflowing dumpsters, abandoned furniture, and small bands of young refugee children.  While their parents are off working long shifts at factories and poultry processing plants many miles away, these kids are left largely unsupervised; zooming up and down the dirty sidewalk on makeshift scooters, and occasionally onto one of the city’s most heavily trafficked intersections: Cone Boulevard and Summit Avenue. Firefighters were called shortly before 4 a.m. Arriving units found smoke and flames coming from this front entrance to Apartment G. DAVID FORD/WFDD Across the courtyard, plywood boards cover the blackened windows and rear door of Apartment G, the site of the early morning fire, and the home of Mugabo Emmanuel and his wife Faraha Lucy.  The first 911 call was placed at 3:54 a.m., and the fire department arrived on the scene five minutes later. Records show that emergency crews immediately initiated CPR to four of the children. Two of them died later that day, and the remaining three died Sunday after being taken off life support at Brenner Children's Hospital.  For weeks after the fire, the front entrance to the apartment was covered with weathered sympathy cards, balloons, and handwritten notes. Today the only reminder is the charred brick façade and soot-stained pillars.    The fire department conducted dozens of interviews. It took months to investigate the unit’s circuit breakers, smoke alarms, and stovetop burners. Finally, the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to unattended cooking. But the final report also states that “certainty may not be an absolute or without any doubts.” And accusations of a faulty stove—burners that would not shut off for hours—and an inattentive landlord continue to swirl. “Killing You Little By Little” Louis Mashengo is a Congolese refugee speaking out about living conditions at Summit-Cone. The former educator is soft-spoken, fluent in several languages, and a leader in the African community here. His cell phone is practically attached to his hand—constantly texting and advising residents, sometimes, he says, until 2 or 3 in the morning.  Much of the advice Mashengo offers comes from hard lessons he’s learned from personal experience battling the property manager since his arrival here two years ago. Louis Mashengo is a leader in the African community offering counsel to fellow refugees. DAVID FORD/WFDD “If the landlord can’t respond to what you need, it’s terrible,” says Mashengo. “It’s like the landlord is killing you little by little.” He says he complained to property managers for weeks about foul odors at his apartment, and nothing happened. After two months, he and four other tenants signed a petition requesting that all 42 Summit-Cone units be inspected. It arrived at the City’s Code Compliance Office, inspectors were dispatched, and they soon discovered major problems in his basement. “It was too hard to prepare food here because of bad smelling” he says. “Sometimes you have to go and buy fresh air—money that maybe you could keep for other issues—because of the bad conditions. And sometimes the worms were coming from the basement because the basement was full of sewage.”  The Summit-Cone apartments are owned by Bill, Sophia, and Basil Agapion, and managed by Arco Realty. In August, after city code inspectors discovered 466 violations, the entire 42-unit complex was condemned. WFDD reached out to the Agapions on multiple occasions to request interviews for this story. Those requests were denied, but finally a written statement was provided through their attorney’s office. "Many criticisms we currently face are not factual or do not account for complicating factors.  Regardless, we will continue to work to provide our residents with safe, affordable housing, to improve and maintain the properties we manage, and to serve our community as good corporate citizens." It reiterates that the Greensboro fire department concluded that the fire was a result of unattended cooking by tenants. It goes on to say that Arco realty will continue to work to provide safe, affordable housing, and to improve and maintain the properties it manages. “These People Have Suffered” Emily Wright was a school social worker at Rankin Elementary School in Greensboro. She provided guidance and support for Mugabo Emmanuel, Faraha Lucy and their children from their first day of school. The 42-unit Summit-Cone complex has been condemned twice in the past five years due to code violations. DAVID FORD/WFDD “One was a first-grader and the other was a second-grader and they were little girls. When they came into the school they didn’t have backpacks. They didn’t have appropriate school clothing. They would be wearing pajamas and cowboy boots," says Wright. "So, I got to know the families, and this family has suffered. They have suffered unimaginably. And they continue to suffer.”   Louis Mashengo says the Emmanuels and the children’s grandparents moved from Summit-Cone following the tragedy, and won’t return. He says it pains him to send photos back home of his current surroundings. "The way people—they treat America that is on top," he says. "But when you send a picture: 'Oh, my gosh! No, this is not America,’ you know? Because, honestly, I can say, okay, in Africa, I’ve found some cities more beautiful than here. But [it] is in Africa." Mashengo packs up his car and gets ready to help some friends find new apartments nearby. He’ll serve as a translator and help with the necessary paperwork. Mashengo has adapted to this environment and says he’s determined to lift up his fellow refugees from the DR Congo in their new home, Greensboro, North Carolina. Story does not include AP content #unsafe haven #greensboro #summit-cone apartments #agapions #arco #refugee #democratic republic of the congo #africa Health & Safety Normal Tweet