DeKalb Files Suit Over Community Called "Worst in America"

(Image: Nancy Jester Facebook)

DECATUR, GA -- DeKalb’s board of commissioners has unanimously approved the filing of a lawsuit which would allow the county to remove debris from a neighborhood that has been called “the worst community in America.”

The filing asks the Superior Court to declare the common areas of Brannon Hill a public nuisance and seeks the authority for the county to remove trash and debris, including laundry waste, garbage, tires and other trash that attracts mosquitoes, rats and flies.

“Our impediment to rectifying the situation at Brannon Hill Condominiums is that all of the conditions exist on private property. This lawsuit, if approved, gives us the legal authority we need to get to work,” said District 4 Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton, who convened a working group to address the problem in December 2014.

Other actions include cutting and clearing overgrowth and taking steps necessary to control the spread of rats, feral cats, insects and other harmful animals. The complaint also requests that the condominium association reimburse the county.

“This is a step in the right direction to remedy an ongoing hazard and blight upon the residents of Brannon Hill and the surrounding areas,” said Nancy Jester, who represents portions of Dunwoody and Brookhaven on the commission.

Brannon Hill, which sits in unincorporated DeKalb, is home to about 400 refugees, mainly from Somalia, who have settled there due to the proximity of a nearby immigrant community.

A September 2015 article by George Chidi on vice.com cites widespread crime, drugs, prostitution and gang activity in the complex. The article quotes Andrew Baker, DeKalb’s director of code enforcement, as saying, “the living conditions are unbelievable.”

Baker also said the condos’ buildings are full of rotten wood, exposed wires, bullet holes, burned-out rooms, missing doors and unlicensed vehicles.