Champlain South association leadership lacked stability before building collapse in Surfside

SURFSIDE, Fla. – Myriam Caspi Notkin served for the condo association of the building that collapsed for about half a decade. She was frustrated about the association’s board inaction, and when she had enough, she decided to quit.

Notkin, 81, and her husband, Arnold “Arnie” Notkin, 87, are among the more than 150 people who remained unaccounted for Tuesday. Relatives believe they were in Champlain Towers South when the 12-story building collapsed Thursday in Miami-Dade County’s town of Surfside.

Notkin, 87, was a retired physical education teacher, and Notkin, 81, was a former treasurer of the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association. A Champlain Towers South survivor said she felt powerless towards the end of her tenure as treasurer from 2014 to 2019.

“She said, ‘I am finished. I cannot fight. They don’t hear me. They don’t listen to me. Enough is enough! This is the end of it!’ They made her life miserable,” said the resident, who did not want to be identified over a fear of reprisal. “There was fighting constantly.”

Related story: Family reports receiving 16 calls from missing grandparents’ landline after collapse

Notkin, 81, was worried about the effects of the dysfunctional dynamic. A troublesome 2018 report shows an engineer warned the board there was major structural damage. She sent an e-mail to the board in 2019 calling them to action: “Doesn’t it bother you to see this building what it has become?”

Notkin was not alone. There was instability in Champlain Towers South Condominium Association’s leadership. In the past five years, the condominium association had five presidents and vice presidents, state records show.

The association’s board first approved more than $9 million for major renovations. They later approved $15 million. The Wall Street Journal reported Jean Wodnicki, the president of the association, warned residents on April 9 that the deterioration was accelerating.

“A lot of this work could have been done or planned for in years gone by. But this is where we are now,” Wodnicki wrote in the April letter. “We have discussed, debated, and argued for years now, and will continue to do so for years to come as different items come into play.”

Some residents complained the assessments that were needed to complete the projects were too high and the deadline was coming up. Officials said the building was undergoing recertification, which requires structural inspections every 40 years.

John Pistorino, an engineer with Pistorino & Alam Consulting in South Miami, helped to write the recertification requirement in 1974. The veteran structural engineer said the maintenance should have been ongoing since 1981 when the building was built.

“You don’t wait 40 years to do your building. The code requires you to maintain the building as you go. Every year, you need to scrutinize the building, anything that is coming up needs to be done,” Pistorino said. “You don’t wait for 40 years.”

Related story: First lawsuit filed after partial building collapse in Surfside

The Notkins purchased Unit 302, at 8777 Collins Ave., in 1994. After the section where they lived collapsed, an army of rescuers wearing hard hats focused on the scattered ruins. Dogs started sniffing for clues.

Search-and-rescue teams found access to the compact mountain of pancaked concrete from the parking garage. Groups of 10 to 12 tunneled through with sonar devices and cameras looking for signs of life.

The teams worked day and night while facing sporadic rain and spontaneous fires. The tech used during the operation also included drones and robots. Experts from as far as Israel, Mexico, and Argentina traveled to the site. Some still hold hope for a miraculous story of survival.

Crews used a crane to carefully remove metal, concrete, and other hazardous debris that could fall on rescuers from above. The rescue effort continued on Tuesday afternoon, and authorities had yet to determine the Notkins whereabouts.

Editorial note: Wodnicki didn’t respond to requests for comment in time for the deadline of this story.

Complete coverage

• HOW TO HELP: Here’s a list of resources to support those impacted by building collapse
• More about the victims identified
• Photos: Loved ones name those they say are missing
• Photos: Search-and-rescue teams in action
• Photos: Building in Surfside partially collapses
• Hotline and wellness form for residents and families

Coverage on Tuesday

• ‘Something inside me said run’: Surfside survivor describes escaping as building came down
• Surfside resident lucky to be alive after spending night with girlfriend
• Champlain condo associations try to appease sister towers residents, speed up repairs
• Condominium law experts say tragedy will prompt more accountability
• Miami-Dade building audit already spotting issues
• Army of volunteers showers first responders with food, water
• Rescuers battle obstacles during their search in Surfside
• Recently married lawyer and husband missing in collapse
• Renowned civil engineer hired to investigate
• Families of Surfside victims keep hope alive by visiting condo and unifying in Bal Harbour
• Prosecutors will ask grand jury to probe building collapse
• ‘Our backyard’: Tragedy strikes home for Miami-Dade rescuers
• Biden to visit Florida building collapse on Thursday
• In collapsed building’s twin, most residents are staying put
• Surfside realtor says deadly building collapse ‘hasn’t slowed down the demand’ on beachside condos
• Beachside vigil held for victims and families of Surfside building collapse

Coverage on Monday

• Another body pulled from rubble in Surfside, bringing the total confirmed dead to 10
• Residential property audit announced by Miami-Dade mayor already underway
• Buses take loved ones of missing Surfside residents to collapse site
• 8 victims now identified following Surfside building collapse
• 88-year-old Surfside condo survivor remembers those who helped her to safety
• ‘Don’t give up hope,’ local leaders tell families of Surfside missing
• Watch out for Surfside charity scams and price gouging
• Despite warning, town deemed condo building in ‘good shape’
• Mayor: Child alone outside collapse site brings tragedy home
• Who are they? Stories of the victims of Surfside collapse
• What caused Surfside collapse? Engineer offers insight
• ‘I will miss you all my life:’ Father pens beautiful note to late son who died in the Surfside condo collapse
• Memorials grow in Surfside as desperate search for victims continues into fifth day
• Surfside collapse is ‘wake-up call,’ DeSantis says as questions remain about cause of devastating collapse

Coverage on Sunday

• State fire marshal provides insight into efforts to locate victims while fighting fire
• Team of national scientists to visit Surfside collapse site
• Teams use sonar devices, lasers to aid in Surfside rescue
• Several families belonging to Miami Beach church remain missing, parishioners gather to pray and hope
• Neighboring residents express concern as investigation into Champlain Towers South collapse continues
• Buses take loved ones of missing Surfside residents to collapse site
• Remembering the dead and missing
• Search-and-rescue teams tunnel through pancaked concrete 3 days after building collapse

Coverage on Saturday

• Relative of Surfside building collapse victim lashes out at DeSantis for not ‘doing enough’
• Surfside building collapse: Four out of 5 dead identified; 156 remain unaccounted for
• Missing grandparents’ landline calling from Champlain Towers South condo, family says
• Surfside tower had ‘major structural damage’ — but enough to cause a collapse?
• North Bay Village police chief’s mother has been unaccounted for since Surfside building collapse
• ‘The hope is that there are going to be miracles,’ relative of Surfside building collapse victims says
• Fire burning beneath rubble of collapsed Surfside condo hindering rescue efforts
• Surfside building collapse first responders having difficulty locating victims in massive debris pile
• Miami-Dade Mayor: ‘I’m hopeful this will be the day we have a breakthrough’
• Surfside mayor expresses concern over Champlain South’s identical sister building
• Traffic changes in Surfside area as rescue efforts continue following deadly building collapse

Coverage on Friday

• Champlain Towers South resident survives by climbing through rubble in the dark with her dog
• Teen identified after being pulled from rubble in Surfside, family confirms mother is among those dead
• Man who lives in condo looks out, tells wife ‘My parents’ apartment isn’t there’
• Surfside collapse: Family reunification center moving from community space to hotel
• First lawsuit filed after partial building collapse in Surfside
• Smoke billows out from Champlain Towers South collapse site
• Surfside officials discuss aftermath of building collapse: ‘Terrible tragedy’ to change recertification
• Israel sends help to Surfside’s Jewish community
• Amid anguish after building collapse, memorial, prayer circle help some cope with Surfside tragedy

Coverage on Thursday

• Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
• Surveillance video captures eerie moments as part of Surfside condo crashes down
• Man says all he saw was ‘white clouds of dust’
• Father remains missing; wife and daughter hospitalized after Surfside building collapse
• Surfside condo that collapsed was going through a recertification process
• After Surfside collapse do you need to worry about your building?
• Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
• Geologist warned of instability in Surfside