In 1979, Hazel M. Johnson, a resident of Altgeld Gardens, mobilized community members to speak up against the environmental injustices and environmental racism her community faced and created the People for Community Recovery. The level of conflict and mobilization peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, where one of their first environmental victories was successfully lobbying the city and state to install water lines and sewer lines for Maryland Manor, home to many senior citizens. The residents of Maryland Manor were paying city taxes for 25 years for contaminated water extracted from wells where a film of chemicals such as cyanide floated on top.