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Press of Atalntic City: Watchdog Report: Veterans left stranded amid squalor

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Findings

• No signed contracts exist that would bind The Gates at Somers Point owners to the promises they made to turn the complex into a safe, veterans-only complex.
• The complex owners say they were counting on housing vouchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist their tenants in paying rent. However, only 60 of those vouchers are available for Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties combined.
• The complex has a history of failed inspections with both the state and the city of Somers Point. Problems, such as damaged sidewalks and inadequate storm drainage, that have persisted through multiple inspections.
• The Gates at Somers Point is the highest crime area of the city, with 515 calls for service recorded last year.
• Community Quest, the nonprofit that spearheaded the Veterans Point project, pulled out last year, leaving residents who had signed leases with the complex owners behind.

The Veterans Point project at The Gates at Somers Point, billed as the first permanent housing complex for veterans in the state, has collapsed in the past year, leaving a handful of veterans living in squalor.

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