Chaotic and Unsafe Living Conditions at Lugar Tower

Broken water main from Thursday 1/18/24

Lugar Towers is in the news again and that’s never a good thing. Residents, most of whom are elderly and disabled, filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Housing Authority last November. The lawsuit claims there was a breach of a settlement agreement in which security was supposed to be provided during the daytime and it wasn’t. The residents filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to get the security back, but lost that battle though still pushing for changes.

Now a new crop of injustices are emerging.

Just this month, residents were without hot water for several days , the building’s 250 elderly and disabled residents were limited to a single elevator for multiple weeks; heat to the common areas was out this month for several of the coldest days of the year; a water main broke and an accompanying alarm caused residents to be instructed to go outside during one of the coldest nights of the year; the trash compactor broke down, causing trash to pile up in the hallways.

And security is a huge problem at a location well-known for violent and criminal activity, most of it by non-residents. With no daytime security five days a week and the security at other hours failing well short of prior standards, residents report that drug dealers are once again setting up shop in the building and there have been multiple recent incidents of violence.

There are multiple Marion County Public Health Department investigations ongoing, too. To add insult to injury, IHA is without permanent leadership and in the midst of HUD receivership. While IHA works to get their proverbial “stuff” together, the residents are suffering inhumane living conditions and less than humane treatment by those responsible for maintaining their homes. All the while, city officials point at someone else in a vain attempt to affix blame on someone else. It reminds me of the old adage, “When you point a finger at someone else you have three pointing back at yourself!”