SHAMOKIN - A couple who rent in the Sixth Street building at the center of a lawsuit between landlord Barry Getchey and the Shamokin Housing Authority say their apartment hasn't had heat all winter and it takes five days for the bathtub to drain.
Complaints by Michael Leiby and Amy Hoke come on the heels of the authority's effort to bar Getchey from receiving rent payments from low-income tenants through federal Housing and Urban Development subsidies.
For his part, Getchey says Leiby and Hoke shouldn't complain when they owe him $2,000 in rent. But the landlord acknowledged he is having trouble keeping up with maintenance because the authority refuses to pay him more than $10,000 in subsidy payments, a move the authority said was prompted by complaints from Getchey's subsidized tenants.
After showing the conditions of his apartment to a reporter on Tuesday, Leiby encountered Getchey outside the building at
the door of the landlord's first-floor apartment, and tension was high.
"Why don't you fix anything around here? You're nothing but a slumlord!" Leiby yelled.
"He's nothing but a freeloader," Getchey replied. "Why don't you go out and dribble your basketball somewhere like you always do? Get up at 6 a.m. and get a job like these people," he said, pointing to the reporter and a photographer.
"Why should I pay the rent when you don't fix anything around here," Leiby fired back. "You got problems, fix it yourself, you deadbeat," Getchey said in ending the confrontation.
No heat, hot water
Michael Leiby and Amy Hoke, who are not subsidized tenants, live in a second floor apartment in Getchey's building at 312 N. Sixth St. They moved into the building in August and say there have been multiple problems from the start.
"We haven't had any heat all winter," Hoke said. "No hot water, either; we have to go to my mother's house with our daughter to shower."
"We lost a lot of drainage pressure in the tub, now it takes us about five days to drain the tub," Leiby said.
In the kitchen, Leiby opened the hot water spigot in the sink for approximately five minutes, but the water never got hot.
"There are no batteries in the smoke detectors in our apartment," Leiby said. "They work in the hallway, but not in the apartment."
The exterior plastic is missing on the thermostat in their apartment, and the temperature dial is upsidedown.
Past problems
Getchey recently filed suit against the authority over non-payment of the HUD funding, but had the case thrown out because Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III said he cannot rule on a civil lawsuit involving a municipal organization.
Getchey was found not guilty of seven code violations involving the heating system in his building during a hearing before Gembic on Jan. 23. The authority stuck to its plan to bar him from renting to HUD tenants, however, because of what it says are continuing problems with the building.
Getchey has explained before that problems began when the furnace was damaged in September flooding and he could not get it fixed until November because of his own health issues and scheduling problems with a plumber. During that time, Getchey said he told tenants to get electric heaters and he would reimburse the difference in electric bills.
"We bought the heater, but never saw a dime of that money," Hoke said.
Despite the conditions, Leiby and Hoke continue to stay in the apartment.
"We would move, if I had somewhere else to go," Leiby said.
Another tenant, Joe Neidig, was in the process of moving out Tuesday; he, too, said conditions are poor.
"The back bedroom is horrible; all when the roof leaked," Neidig said.
Inside the bedroom, a long water stain runs down a back wall, with exposed ceiling boards above it.
Shown the pictures of the water spots inside Neidig's apartment, Getchey told The News-Item he would fix that problem when Neidig moves out.
Judgment against tenants
Getchey defended his lack of action in part because of non-payment.
"Why should I do anything to fix the place when they owe me so much rent?" Getchey said of Leiby and Hoke.
He produced a judgment against the two from January for non-payment of rent for November and December, totaling $1,042.
"Top that off with them being there for two months (since then) and there's another $1,000," Getchey said.
The landlord said eviction papers have been served on the couple that they must be out by March 24.
Leiby admits to being behind on the rent, partially due to losing his job, but also in protest of the conditions, he said.
"There are so many problems here and the only thing he is worried about is getting his money," Leiby said.
Getchey said losing the HUD subsidies has made it a struggle.
"If they (the authority and Leiby and Hoke) would give me my money, things could get fixed," he said. "Funny to me is the ones who aren't paying rent are the ones who are complaining. I have tenants who pay me faithfully and haven't had a problem."