Imagine for a moment, living in a beautiful apartment, with hardwood floors, extremely high ceilings and spacious closets. Yet, once you travel outside the doors to your home, the madness begins.

Now let's define, "madness". The Darrah apartments was once a middle school, thus the interior hallways and exterior, front and back common grounds resemble a school. So with this in mind the building has many entry flaws where a person can simply wait for a resident to exit the building and enter the Darrah, plant their drugs and stop the front door from closing to allow easy access to their drug supply stashed away somewhere in the building allowing them to sell drugs directly in front of the building.

I have lived in the Darrah apartments for many years and it has been the worst experience ever!
Ever 6 to 9 months the Darrah has a new manager. There isn't a steady management or maintenance presence, people sell drugs in front of the building morning, noon, and night. There are at least two to five shootings per month in front of the building and surrounding blocks. My car was broken into twice and just last December-2006, someone decided to write their name in my hood and the same happened to several other tenants. The "security" gate in the back of the building is always inoperable, allowing access to anyone into the building. The Darrah is simply not safe! There were several reported rapes and robberies in a two block radius from the building and in the Winter of 05, there was a lifeless body hanging from a tree, directly across from the building. I know what I'm saying, sounds very unreal, but this building is my life and my reality and I am simply discussing the life that you will in turn lead if you decide to live here.

The only reason I stayed so long in this building is because I truly adore my apartment and I am disabled, I use a wheelchair, so housing is very hard to find....oh, I almost forgot, the new owner of the Darrah Apartments, recently decided to convert the apartment building into luxury condominiums, because the real estate value in this zip code is increasing and he wants all disabled tenants to vacate the building to allow rehab on the building, to get a "new class" of tenants into the Darrah apartments. I can't believe it either, but my case goes in front of the Pennsylvania Fair Housing committee today, 5-29-07....keep me in your prayers...

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