Members of Arkansas Community Organizations and Arkansas Renters United held a pair of events Thursday to voice their frustrations with unresolved habitability issues and cuts to federal assistance programs.
Current and former residents of Hickory View Apartments — which consists of the 11-story Heritage House and three-story Cedar Gardens — gathered Thursday morning for a news conference at an adjacent park in North Little Rock. They discussed their living experiences and accomodational concerns, including units and hallways they said had not been adequately repaired in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-subsidized buildings.
Deena Strickford, previously a Heritage House tenant for 15 years, had numerous safety complaints about the 11-story facility she described as “cracked from top to bottom” — foundation issues, persistent mold, interior water damage and a lack of air conditioning, among others.
Strickford, who now lives in Cedar Gardens, said authorities had been “spray-painting over the mold” as damage continued to accumulate. She said she has unsuccessfully reached out for assistance multiple times, including to the mayor’s office and North Little Rock Housing Authority.
“This is supposed to be HUD-affordable housing and fair housing,” Strickford said. “Given the billionaires’ tax cuts, we feel like that money should be going somewhere else, to fix the places up to where we have a safe environment to live.”
Hattie Temple, a former 11th-story resident, said she filed her first grievance more than six years ago, adding that she had noticed structural damage from the eighth floor to the roof that had worsened over time. Even though she called in a HUD representative, the visit did not result in a report being filed, she said.
In addition to the structural grievances, Strickford claimed there had been a number of security issues in both buildings, such as a lack of guards’ floor checks and break-ins through side entrances.
Temple said security had worsened since the North Little Rock Housing Authority transferred ownership of the properties to private companies several years ago.
“Everyone talks about the Housing Authority, but they took better care of us than these folks,” she said.
Patricia Hamby moved into the ground floor of Cedar Gardens in 2009, relocating to the third floor after her husband died about 13 years ago. She expressed that a number of hygenic and safety concerns had affected her health, gesturing to a chair and vent accumulating white spots.
“I get short of breath if I walk not even a mile,” Hamby said, mentioning that her legs had swollen in her most recent trip to the hospital. “I have to have my inhaler, I have to have my oxygen.”
Hickory View Apartments is owned by Louisiana-based developer Knight Development and managed by M&T Property Management. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reached out to Knight Development but was told Nikki Elmore, the company’s media representative, was not available to speak Thursday.
Some of the area’s residents were also present at an afternoon protest held by Arkansas Community Organizations at the Richard Sheppard Arnold U.S. Courthouse in Little Rock. Temple and Strickford were among the earliest to arrive.
On the fifth anniversary of U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ death, nearly 100 people took to the courthouse to carry on his legacy of activism. The former Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil rights leader gave rise to a popular protest slogan when he spoke about Rosa Parks’ advice “to find a way, to get in the way, to get in what I call ‘good trouble,’ necessary trouble.”
The Arkansas Community Organizations volunteers assembled near the intersection of Broadway and Capitol to heed those words, participating in the national “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstration to condemn the reduced Medicaid and SNAP funding resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed by President Donald Trump this month, as well as cuts to HUD included in Trump’s federal budget proposal, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in cities and other recent directives of Trump’s administration.
Other signage focused on a perceived lack of representation from Arkansas politicians.
“We’re in a crisis, it’s almost like going back to (Lewis’) time,” said Arkansas Community Organizations Executive Director Neil Sealy. “ICE (is) on the streets, people’s dignity is being taken away, they’re cutting housing, they’re cutting Medicaid, they’re cutting SNAP, and all of this is putting money in the hands of wealthy people like our U.S. Rep. French Hill … he’ll get a nice tax break, but for the rest of us, the rent’s rising, and whatever we get ain’t going to go far.”
The Little Rock demonstration spread out along the sidewalk, attracting honks with signs reading “Vote for Peace,” “ICE Melts Under Pressure” and “Good Trouble Veterans.” Organizers rallied the gathering with chants of “Fight, fight, fight, housing is a human right” and “No justice, no peace.”
Sealy said the 95 degree heat would make Thursday’s protest shorter than normal, as the crowd gathered in the shade to allow speeches from organizers and community figures. Pulaski County Justice of the Peace Donna Massey, a Democrat representing District 6 on the Quorum Court, was the first to grab the bullhorn, quoting Lewis throughout her short address.
“What is ‘good trouble?’ Good trouble is when you’re standing up and fighting for what you believe in when you know that you’re being neglected,” Massey said, her words punctuated by a car horn. “Right now, in this country, we’re being overlooked.”
Several “Good Trouble” protests were also held in other parts of the state, including Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Jonesboro.
