Elected officials on Monday toured a troubled Opa-locka apartment complex, where residents have been living in deplorable conditions with rats, feces and mold for years.
Rep. Frederica Wilson and a representative from Sen. Marco Rubio's office had a chance to see inside the apartments of the Glorieta Gardens.
"With the mold, the rodents, it's a constant fight every day. Every day, no matter what you do, for the end result to be the same is crazy," said Deidre Thomas, who has been living at Glorieta Gardens for years with her children.
Inside one apartment, workers painted over the mold on the walls. Another unit's tub had feces and raw sewage bubbling up the drain.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
One tenant said the whole community’s sewage backs up into her place.
"It's very stressful and it's very inhumane," said Chaunquavia Manuel, who lives with her 12-year-old and 4-year-old. "They don't do nothing about it."
Previous coverage
On Monday, Wilson led a huge delegation of federal, state, and local leaders toured the property along with the Housing of Urban Development.
"Babies are sick. People are on breathing machines. Asthma," Wilson said. "I mean I think that some of them have become immune to the smell because I don't see how they live there, how they breathe."
For months, Wilson said she’s been demanding improvements from the owners who are government-subsidized.
"These are people that the federal government is paying a slum lord to subsidize the living conditions of American citizens," she said. "It's not sanitary, it’s unhealthy. People have cancer in this facility, all of them have some kind of breathing problems, and it's unreal."
She said numerous attempts to come up with an agreement with management to fix the units have been hindered, leaving residents in continued distress.
"We’re going to be monitoring, we’re going to be watching, and if it doesn't happen at a speed we think it should, and I don't see a construction company the next time I'm out here — which will probably be two weeks because I have to go to Washington but I’ll be back then — you’ll see a lawsuit," Wilson said.
The management company of Glorieta Gardens sent NBC6 a statement Monday night, saying, "The ownership and management of Glorieta Gardens is committed to creating an environment that is healthy, safe, livable and conducive to comfortable and productive family living."
The problem is so bad that 55 residents, including families with children, have been temporarily housed in extended stays. But hundreds of other residents have nowhere else to go and are forced to live in these conditions.
