Ferndale Housing Commission Records Found Dumped in Detroit
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 3, 2015)
UPDATE:  Upon speaking with the resident and viewing the documents it is clear that the dumping was of someone’s personal records.  The records were  were communications from Ferndale Housing Commission to a a tenant of the program.  The records also included multiple documents from multiple agencies, including insurance paperwork, tax records etc.  Also the original report may have left some with the impression that the man could not get a response from the FHC, but upon speaking with him he was able to reach someone in the office, who told him that the documents were not their responsibility. And indeed they were personal documents, not FHC property.  A new story will be up later this evening with more details.
How did four years’ worth of documents from the Ferndale Housing Commission end up in a pile of rubble in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit? That is the next mystery in the unpacking of years’ worth of malfeasance in the Ferndale Housing Commission.
The documents came to light when a Detroit resident discovered them in an area where dumping is common. The man called Fox 2 News after he says he made repeated attempts to reach the Ferndale Housing Commission to return them.
According to the report, the documents contain personal information of residents.
Oakland County 115 News went to Brightmoor to speak with the resident and learn the status of the documents, but the man was not home. Neighbors say they know nothing of the documents and little about the man who found them, only that he tends to keep to himself.
It is unclear where the documents are currently, what the documents exactly were, or if their illegal disposal has anything to do with the recent HUD investigation which found multiple financial and administrative issues, or with the recent incarceration of the former Executive Director Deborah Wilson for breaking into residents apartments to steal their prescription medicines.
Ferndale Housing Commissioner Ann Heler, who was appointed to serve after Wilson’s crimes had been uncovered, is stunned by the discovery and has no further information other than what has been reported by Fox 2 and Oakland County 115. “I am very concerned,” she said, but had no further comment.
This story will be updated as more info is available.
To view the Fox 2 report on the illegal dumping go to http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/28715404-story.
For our complete investigation into Ferndale Housing Commission check out our list of stories at http://oaklandcounty115.com/2015/07/17/timeline-of-ferndale-housing-commissions-struggles-and-progress-2/.