MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – From black mold to vermin, the residents of an apartment complex in Opa-locka said they’ve been forced to live with a plethora of unlivable problems for years.
In August, they were forced to evacuate to a hotel. But now, with less than 24 hours notice, they’re being asked to leave again to another hotel that, they say, is unsuitable.
Local 10 News spoke with residents of the evacuated former residents of the Glorieta Gardens apartment complex Thursday, who had since been staying at a Town Place Suites by Marriott location in Miami Lakes. A letter was shoved under their doors at the hotel. Multiple sources, including the residents themselves, say the letter came from Impro Synergies, the company that manages the Glorieta Gardens apartments.
“They told us that we had to leave today and to go into another hotel,” said Glorieta Gardens resident Jasmine Wimes. “The other hotel they want us to go to is not suitable, has prostitutes, is known for trafficking and has drugs going in and out of there.”
“The way they explained it to us is that we’re not (hotel) guests at the Marriott here, we’re tenants,” said Denecka Smith, who was also displaced. “So, if we’re tenants, how can they just put us out of the hotel with not even a 24-hour notice?”
Glorieta Gardens resident Sharon Roberson, who had also been displaced, told Local 10 News that she would rather die inside of her own unlivable home at Glorieta than sleep in another hotel or motel with mold.
In August, Opa-locka city leaders held a news conference after residents the apartment complex, located in the 1300 block of Alexandra Drive, were reportedly living in deplorable conditions.
City officials were hoping to draw attention to the unlivable conditions of the complex and are urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take action with the private owners and management company as city inspectors recently inspected the buildings.
The complex has around 250 apartments and residents told Local 10 News that they are dealing with an infestation of roaches, rats, and even snakes.
Opa-locka City Manager Darvin Williams described one apartment that had feces and raw sewage bubbling up in the kitchen sink.
“The residents of Opa-Locka will no longer live in these conditions and we are not going to tolerate it another day,” said Williams.
Williams told Local 10 News management has changed several times, adding that the complex is private property and under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, which is federally funded.
He says the goal now is to find out what resources are available and what HUD can do for the residents that are suffering.
“Back when this was private property that is compensated and paid for through a HUD contract to allow those residents to live there, that requires HUD to take the first steps as this is their contract and they have privity with the private developer,” Williams said.
Wimes told Local 10 News back in August that she has a son who has medical issues and wonders where and when the help will come.
“My son takes over 20 medicines (and) due to chronic asthma, he developed a lung disease, throat disease, and he started catching seizures,” she said. Wimes also told Local 10 News in August that her son previously developed a rash, which she said came from the moldy conditions in her home.
The management company and owners have not cooperated with the city as city leaders worry the building may eventually need to be condemned.
Since the apartments at Glorieta Gardens are considered to be publicly subsidized units, residents say they can’t just leave and find affordable places to live.
Local 10 News was told staff at the hotel were not aware of the letters that were sent out and not aware that the residents were being told to leave on such short notice.
They and the residents say the letters came from Impro Synergies, the property management company for Glorieta Gardens.
Management of the Glorieta Gardens apartment complex did not allow our reporter Liane Morejon to speak to anyone at the property management office, and told Local 10 News to schedule an interview by phone, however, the voicemail inbox of the apartment complex was full after trying to leave a message. Emails have since been unanswered.
Meanwhile, the tenants feel that they have been abandoned again, even as they continue paying rent on units they are not currently living in.
“I just paid rent yesterday,” said Roberson. “So, if I feel like I’m paying my rent and bills, I have the right to go lay my head down comfortably.”