HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – South Florida residents are still dealing with problems brought on by the historic rainfall and flooding that occurred over the last month.
Local 10 News spoke with customers of a self-storage facility in Hallandale Beach Tuesday who are outraged after claiming they were prevented from accessing their flood-damaged units, leaving valuable belongings ruined and essential tools inaccessible for nearly two weeks.
Darius Green stood outside the fence of his units at CubeSmart Self Storage, located at 450 Ansin Blvd., as he shared his frustrations due to the severe flooding that damaged his units nearly two weeks ago.
“I’m here trying to mitigate some of the water damage that happened 12 days ago,” Green said. “I had about two feet of water inside my unit.”
Green, who says he pays nearly $400 per month for two self-storage units at CubeSmart in Hallandale Beach, reported that he had about two feet of water in his unit after the area was inundated with rain and flooding.
“Every day I tried to call the office. Nobody was answering, nobody was here,” Green said. “They didn’t call anybody and they didn’t send any emails.”
Green told Local 10 News that the company did not allow access to the units to mitigate water damage.
“For us not to get access to our unit for more than 11 or 12 days is crazy because we have important documents to dry out,” Green said. He noted that Tuesday was the first day that CubeSmart allowed him inside, nearly two weeks after the storm.
“I thought I could save a lot more, but really it is too late at this point,” Green said. “All kinds of mold in my unit. There’s roaches all over the place because of the water, rust to my tools, mowers, power washers and air compressors. It is all just damaged. I don’t think they handled it appropriately.”
Over the weekend, Green saw several others with units attempting to gain access.
“They didn’t give us access to the units. They said there was major damage on the property, but look, there is no major damage,” he said. “The building is not falling down; it is just a one-story building.”
Green said they called the police, hoping law enforcement could help them access their belongings.
“The police came, and the manager told the officer that insurance told her she couldn’t open. They gave us three different stories in the same day within two hours,” he said.
As Green spoke, the general manager of CubeSmart approached.
“While you are here, do you want to address these concerns?” asked Local 10 News reporter Christina Vazquez.
“We are addressing his concerns. We have been. I will address it with him outside of here,” the general manager said.
Green suggested the manager speak to others waiting as well, including 80-year-old John Gimenez.
Gimenez had been trying to access his unit to retrieve his tools, essential for his work as a carpenter.
“I called and no one answered the phone,” Gimenez said. “I can’t work. I had all my tools in there, and that’s a lot of money.”
Gimenez told Local 10 News Tuesday the company finally granted him an appointment on Thursday.
“I got to pay the rent, I got to pay a lot of things, and the money goes away very quickly,” he said.
The general manager defended the company’s delay, citing safety concerns.
“We were not letting them in earlier because we wanted to be safe first. It is all about safety. There was a foot and a half of water for almost five days,” he said.
“You can close one or two days because of the storm but then open it,” Gimenez said.
The situation has left many customers like Green angered with the entire situation.
“I am never coming back,” Green said.
Local 10 News has reached out to CubeSmart’s corporate headquarters to address the customers’ concerns. They have not responded as of Tuesday afternoon.
Green shared photos of his other belongings that included Miami Heat practice sneakers worn and signed by Miami Heat legend Dwayne Wade, passports and other important documents, Louis Vuitton merchandise, expensive tools a double door oven, a washer and dryer that were completely waterlogged that were damaged inside his storage unit from the severe flooding.
View some of photos here: