A 19-year-old Carmichaels tenant says a borough councilman tried to improperly evict her out of his building and says he's ignored her deplorable living conditions on East George Street.

"There's holes in the house, my floor leans, my toilet leans, the steps shake when you walk up them," said Jennifer Whyel.

Whyel says she can't move out until she gets back on her feet, but she's worried about her son's safety in the hazardous unit. She says her landlord, Councilman Christopher Watson, promised repairs when she moved in with her toddler a few months ago. But Whyel says nothing improved.

"If you're on city council and you can have a building like this, there's something wrong," Whyel said.

Then she says the councilman recently threatened to evict her within 24 hours, after police said the stairs to her unit were unsafe. She refused to leave immediately, got legal advice and says the councilman tried to intimidate her.

WTAE went to Watson's home for a comment. Before driving away, he said, "If the property is so bad, why do they want to live there?"

Watson owns a few other properties, including a longtime eyesore shell structure next door to Whyel's building. Channel 4 Action News has learned that the shell structure was cited in February. He faced fines for violating a nuisance ordinance and garbage accumulation.

"His properties have been a burden and an embarrassment to the community and what we're trying to do is get it taken care of. ... It's frustrating, there's no doubt that it's absolutely frustrating matter," said Mayor Mike Dohanich.

The mayor says the large problem is there's no zoning in the small borough. Right now, he says they can only cite the councilman.

"There's never been an issue here to have zoning here, always been a nice, sleepy community. There's never been any issues that we absolutely needed zoning for," said Dohanich.

Despite the mayor's recent push for zoning, he says it's up to council members. In Watson's case, he says the councilman plans to hire an independent engineer to assess the shell property.

"I don't think any of us think he's going to do something about it at this point," Dohanich said.

The mayor says they've contacted the solicitor and continue to search for legal avenues. As for Whyel, she says she regrets moving in and trusting a borough official to keep his word.

Watson was appointed to council earlier this year. The next election is in November.

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