Wildwood Complex Faces Lawsuit, More Bad Publicity

WILDWOOD — Sandman Towers, a 100-unit housing complex for senior citizens and disabled residents, hasn’t been receiving the best publicity lately.
For weeks this summer, the apartment complex was mentioned in media stories of the June 2004 stabbing death of 81-year-old Wallace Savitz and murder trial of Gerald Daniels.
Both Savitz and Daniels were residents of Sandman Towers.
A jury, consisting of eight women and four men, determined that Daniels, a 39-year old mentally disabled man, was guilty of stabbing Savitz 157 times in his sixth floor apartment.
More recently, the Wildwood Housing Authority, which operates and maintains the build-ing, faces a lawsuit over the alleged delayed discovery of a resident’s death.
Walter E. Poukish Sr., 69, was found dead in his third-floor apartment May 17. His body had already started to decompose, according to court documents.
Despite recent issues, Robert Ciccozzi, executive director of the Wildwood Housing Authority, said the authority’s mission is to provide safe and sanitary housing for those who are qualified residents.
Ciccozzi explained that the building provides housing for low-income seniors and disabled residents and a nearby 70-unit building, known as Commissioners Court, provides housing for low-income families.
An outside company, Caring Incorporated, is available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily for tenants who need help with daily activities.
“Some residents need help with things like bathing and reminders to take medication,” said Ciccozzi. “It is a program funded by Medicaid.”
In addition to a volunteer security staff, the building does employ an outside security company, “in case something happens.”
Each unit in Sandman Towers is equipped with an “OK button” that is to be pressed every day by 10:30 a.m. to let the building’s staff know the resident is OK. If someone fails to press his or her button, security personnel are supposed to check in.
According to reports in Poukish’s case, volunteer security staff allegedly failed to check on the man for several days, but noted in a log book that Poukish was well without verifying.
Ciccozzi did not comment about the pending lawsuit.
He did say, in regards to Daniels, the authority does run police and past rental background checks on residents.
Daniels had a prior conviction for theft.
Ciccozzi said Daniels’ background check result “wasn’t serious enough to keep him out.”
Ciccozzi added that panhandling, which Daniels admitted to doing frequently in the trial, was a greater issue, and if continued could have prompted disciplinary actions.
As for eviction, Ciccozzi said the authority has a “one strike policy” for issues involving drugs and weapons. Nonpayment of rent would be another cause for eviction, he said.
The authority works with the residents to keep serious housekeeping issues under control, Ciccozzi said. But, he added, if it doesn’t “clear up” the authority might pursue further action.
Despite the recent publicity, the waiting list for both Sandman Towers and Commissioners Court hasn’t gotten shorter.
“It is a long waiting list even now,” Ciccozzi said. “Finding affordable housing can be difficult.”