ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- St. Petersburg City councilwoman Lisa Wheeler-Bowman is calling for the city's housing authority CEO to be removed. 

Wheeler-Bowman and several other officials spoke passionately Friday morning about Jordan Park and the housing authority’s handling of the relocation of residents while waiting for funding approval of its demolition and the construction of a new building in its place. 

She came down hard on St. Petersburg Housing Authority CEO Tony Love in particular, saying he should not have made those residents leave before the project was finalized.

Many of those former residents are now being forced to live in much worse conditions, all while the historicial village sits empty, she says.

Wheeler-Bowman also called on Congressman Charlie Crist's office to take the residents of Jordan Park's case to the federal level. By Friday afternoon, Crist's office had issued a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson, asking that he look into the case.

"Why is it so difficult for my constituents with Housing Choice Vouchers to find affordable housing?" Crist asked in the letter. "What is HUD doing to improve the Housing Choice Voucher Program? What can municipalities do to fight discrimination against source of income?"

Although the Jordan Park complex is slated for demolition, the 31 units sit vacant behind a chain link fence while the housing authority looks for money to build a three story housing complex on the site. 

"We have elderly that are sick," Wheeler-Bowman said. "And we are in the middle of a housing crisis."

She added the council has the power to remove Love and should begin that process. 

In response to Wheeler-Bowman's claims, a spokesperson for Love issued the following statement:

"Having brought the ownership of Jordan Park home in 2017, The St. Petersburg Housing Authority has invested over a milliion dollars in the revitalization of the 80-year-old complex. Current plans for more improvements require a financial balance between rehab and new construction that will add 29 additional apartment homes and assure enough cash flow to support the rehab of 206 existing units.   

With the 'all or none challenge,' SPHA has sought collaboration with local government as well as private funding sources, under a  rigid schedule that is the most viable gateway to more and better affordable housing throughout the city."