NJ Housing Complex Plagued by Asbestos

August 4, 2006 - The discovery of asbestos at a Long Branch (NJ) Housing Authority Site has local citizens worried.  Members of the Long Branch Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC) hosted a press conference at the Grant Court complex after learning just days before that asbestos warning signs were posted on apartment units at the site.

According to an article in Atlanticville newspaper, signs reading "Danger. Asbestos. Cancer and lung disease hazard. Keep out. Authorized personnel only. Respirators and protective clothing are required in this area," have been hung on several of the boarded-up units at Grant Court.

Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA) officials, however, maintained that the asbestos was not a danger to members of the complex who still live there.  The 82 affordably-priced apartments that make up the complex are due to be demolished sometime in September

and replaced with 70 units, as part of a housing authority revitalization project.

LBHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett has said that the asbestos does not pose a health hazard for the residents in the complex. "As long as the asbestos is intact and not breaking apart, it is fine and not harmful to the residents," Garrett said. "And that is the case."

Garrett tried to explain to concerned citizens that asbestos was often found in buildings like Grant Court, which was constructed circa 1940, and that every precaution was being taken to insure that no one comes in contact with the material.  It will be disposed of properly, he noted.

"What workers are doing inside the [units] is removing the [asbestos] and they are following all the guidelines," Garrett said. "When doing asbestos removal, this is the process you have to go through."
Approximately 67 of the Grant Court units have been vacated at part of the redevelopment project and 14 families currently reside at the site, according to the newspaper article.  However, the remaining families maintain that they were never informed as to the presence of asbestos in the complex.