Opa-locka

Residents Say Opa-locka Apartment Complex a “Health Hazard”

Residents in an Opa-locka apartment complex with a history of trouble say that days after the homes flooded, triggering unsanitary conditions; the units still have not been repaired.

In the last few years, the apartment complex located on NW 22nd Avenue in Opa-locka has racked up 39 code violations. The complex has a new owner, but residents said the repairs still aren’t being made despite health hazards and danger.

Resident Corlene Vallieres said her ceiling came crashing down on her over two weeks ago. The falling plaster hit her and sent her to the hospital. Her family took pictures of the damage and Corlene said nothing has changed.

“It’s still like this,” Corlene said. “Since the accident, they haven’t come out here to do nothing, put nothing over it. All kind of creatures come out of there like centipedes. It’s big roaches. It’s just a mess.”

Another tenant named Euegena didn’t want to give her name, but took video when she said her bathroom and floors were overrun by feces.

“The next day, you start seeing manure all over the floor,” Eugenea said. “The bathroom, the hallway, and in the room. So I called her again and she was like ‘I have your message. I am going to put in a report about it.’ So I was like that’s not a report, it’s an emergency.”

The list of violations the city has given to the building include everything from plumbing to electrical problems and code inspection issues. The city of Opa-locka said it’s stepped in to make sure the owners who purchased the units several months ago fix what is wrong.

“Well, certainly they know that the city not going to be lenient with anything that’s wrong with the apartments,” said Opa-locka Assistant City Manager David Chiverton. “We are going to work with the owners and we are going to continue to respond to their needs.”

Chiverton said the new owners have a good track record at other locations. NBC 6’s Willard Shepard tried to contact the owners on camera, but when he called the office, a person answered and said they weren’t interested before hanging up.

The Opa-locka code enforcement team plans to return to the building on Wednesday to follow-up on the problems.

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