One of the residents of a Liberty City apartment building who has been complaining about deplorable conditions now says her power has been disconnected.
"I mean, I have no other choice but to deal with the elements, I got candles for light but that's about as much as we have," Jameena Grimes said Monday.
Temperatures dipped this past weekend into the 40s, while the dispute heated up between tenants and management in the Liberty Village Apartments.
"It's really messed up. Something needs to be done about this because they're selling power to the tenants, because I had something to say about what I'm paying for, this is what I get," Grimes said.
Grimes is the most vocal about the deplorable living conditions at 1231 Northwest 61st Avenue. She claims unsanitary conditions, mold, structural deficiencies and now another hazard. Grimes believes management is illegally controlling power to some of these apartments, completely bypassing Florida Power and Light.
Last weekend when Grimes was suddenly without power she went down to the meter room and found her box taken apart.
"When I went in there the entire box, the meter is gone. I had a meter there, the entire thing has been gutted out, all the wiring is gone, all the way to the bottom of the box," she said.
FPL confirmed to NBC6 they didn't do it. In fact, a spokesperson said they haven't provided service for close to a year.
When NBC 6 tried to contact property manager Kat Williams, she hung up the phone.
Grimes said management refuses to repair damaged boxes that FPL won't service. She also said at least 10 other tenants pay for power off the books.
If the box gets repaired everybody's gonna have to go to FPL," she said. "As long as the box is in the condition they're in, you have to go through management."
Local
FPL inspectors arrived at the building Monday night. Officials with the company said they inspected the equipment Sunday night and found evidence of meter tampering and/or missing equipment serving several units at the building.
"We are coordinating with City of Miami officials to ensure that needed permanent repairs can be made as soon as possible," the company said in a statement.
