Miami

Residents of Allapattah's Condemned Civic Towers Demand Answers

The displaced residents of Miami's condemned Civic Towers are protesting with the hopes of finding a solution as the building's owners said they are not allowed to enter – either to live or retrieve their belongings.

Idania Salgueiro, the former property manager, said that Hurricane Irma is not the reason the buildings on N.W. 15th Avenue are condemned.

“Any damage to this property has been caused due to the construction. It was not caused by the hurricane," Salgueiro said.

Though some residents found alternate housing, others are staying at hotels after Miami's Building Department deemed the structures unsafe to inhabit.

For some people, it's not simply household materials such as clothing and silverware, but many personal items and important documents that are within the dangerous building.

Vladimir Padilla, a resident, said that he does not know what his options are after Oct. 22 – the last day he's staying at a hotel.

He said that since he can't go inside the Civic Towers, he may "come back and sleep in the street.”

The California-based property owners, identified as either Redwood Housing or Affordable Housing Access Inc., told residents that their belongings would be put into storage – meaning strangers could handle the personal property of residents.

Before Hurricane Irma, the buildings were undergoing renovations. After the storm, the power and water went out. Mold made matters worse.

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