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Trenton's Section 8 Hell Hole
Esher St. SRO Infested With Bed Bugs Roaches & Other Vermin - Midnight Temps Top 100 Degrees -
Air Conditioners Banned As Owner Gets Rich On The Publics Money
DEDICATED TO THE
MEMORY OF
DITH PRAN
N.Y. TIMES
PHOTOGAPHER
&
SURVIVOR OF THE
"THE KILLING FEILDS"
Believed to have originally been a porcine factory erected in 1893, 50 Escher St. in Trenton N.J. now looks more like a prison then a federally funded Section 8 rooming house.
Recently an individual who went to 50 Escher Street to give a resident a ride to Capitol Health System was followed down the street by the facility manager and ex convict Howard Ryan, and was told that he was not allowed on the property because Ryan suspected that the good Samaritan had called Mayor Doug Palmer's office informing him about dangerous heat conditions last summer.
The cornerstone of 50 Escher St indicates that the building was built in 1893. The pouris red brick construction acts like a natural kiln retaining 100 degree summer heat for days. Temperatures at midnight on the upper floors often remain between 95 and 100 degrees even with window fans blowing.Residents are not allowed to have air conditioners, even if they suffer from medical conditions.
Ground floor residents are caged in their rooms making escape through the windows in case of fire impossible. The steal window covers, sometimes called "bird cages" by firefighters, are not on hinges, but are bolted into the brick walls making a simple escape not an option.
Receiving at least $602 per month from the county and federal governments for a small room with common bathrooms and kitchens. Borders are often intimidated and treated more like inmates than rent paying citizens. If a client receives some kind of assistance from the government, he must pay one third of that sum toward his rent.
