The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Lawsuit filed against Housing Comm.
Volunteer feels wronged helping with Paradise Manor fire
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: June 7, 2007
A lawsuit was filed against the Ypsilanti Housing Commission after a volunteer helping with the destruction of the Paradise Manor fire became frustrated with the department.
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Tyrone Bridges said he wanted to help families affected by the fire at paradise Manor in February. His work the Housing Commission, which operates the housing complex, has led to a $975 lawsuit he filed against the organization.
The case went into mediation last month, but with no conclusion. The case is expected to go in front of District Judge Kirk Tabbey later this summer.
Bridges said he approached Walter Norris, president of the Housing Commission, as the fire was burning in February to ask how he could help. Several families were displaced after the fire ravaged their apartments, and Bridges said Norris had recommended refurbishing vacant units at Paradise Manor so families could move in there.
Asking for reimbursement for gas, food and expenses, Bridges said he and three other volunteers spent the weekend after the fire working to get two vacant units ready for tenants. He said the group spent more than 24 hours working over two days, spending more than $500 out-of-pocket for equipment to do the job.
"We did what we could to help by any means necessary," Bridges said.
To cover any liability, Bridges said the group was asked to sign a contract for their work, which was to be signed by Monday morning. However, he said when he went into the office to sign a contract, he was told his services were no longer needed at the complex.
"It was an insult," Bridges said. "We did approximately three quarters of the job."
When Bridges returned to Paradise Manor to retrieve the equipment, which they had not been compensated for, he said a maintenance person told him he was not allowed on the property.
Norris would not comment on the specifics of the suit, but said the organization will be consulting with its legal council.
"We're hoping that it can be resolved," Norris said.
Bridges said he and the other three volunteers finished one unit and half of another. He said the units were in very poor condition and the group had done quality work. He said he had taken pictures and video before and after the group's work to use as examples when trying to get jobs professionally.
"My intention wasn't to take the pictures to use against them," Bridges said.
The pictures and video show a very littered apartment with disrepair to plumbing, electrical and structural components of the unit. Bridges said his team had been instructed to repair cosmetics of the walls, structure to the stairs and filth of the appliances.
One of the more grotesque jobs Bridges said his team had to do was clean out a refrigerator that had not been cleaned in more than a year. He said there was food left in the appliance with no power.
"They ran from it when they opened the door," Bridges said.
He said the two volunteers had cleaned the food and dead cockroaches out of the refrigerator, which was located in the one of the only vacant units in the building.
Norris had no comment about the condition of the units or the pictures Bridges had taken.
"They begged me for my photos," Bridges said.
There has not been a date set for the case to go to trial, but Bridges said he will know within the month.
"I'm very confident about winning," Bridges said. "To let us go without giving us a dime, that's the wrong thing to do."
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