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Aug 28, 2008 5:37 pm US/Central
Owner of Closed Irving Apartments A No-Show
IRVING (CBS 11 News) ―
Fix it or tear it down! That's the message from Irving city staffers to the owner of a local apartment complex.
Harry Singh, of El Cerrto, California, was a no-show at a hearing that could close the Vista del Lago apartment complex permanently.
On August 15th Vista del Lago was shut down and apartment residents forced out. According to city official's action was taken after more than 1,700 safety, fire, and code violations were recorded at the complex.
Between 300 and 500 residents were displaced and left scrambling for a place to stay when the apartments abruptly shut. The City of Irving put about half of them up in a local hotel for about a week. More than 60 rooms at the Ramada DFW South were occupied Saturday by former residents.
"It's been very hard. It's just moving the stuff from one place to another, ya know, it's just been real hectic," said displaced resident Belinda Serrato.
Today Singh was to appear before the building and standards commission and argue why the site shouldn't be closed down or demolished by January 31st, but he only sent a representative who argued that a continuance should be granted to the apartment owner.
Hazardous wiring, broken ceiling joints and a litany of roof issues were some of the noted issues officials said they warned the owner about for months.
In June, CBS 11 News checked out the Irving apartment complex and found raw sewage running out of a pipe and onto the grass. The complex owner had until August to make repairs, but failed to meet the standards.
Meanwhile Irving Cares, a non-profit organization trying to assist displaced apartment residents, says that only a few people have shown up for assistance.
"These families are typically, their low-income to start with," explained Teddie Story with Irving Cares. "[They're] typically living from paycheck, to paycheck and even if they did have advance notice that they were gonna have to move, it's really hard for this client-base to be able to save money to get ready to move."
The money that Irving Cares uses for assistance comes from fines paid for earlier violations at other apartment complexes – not taxpayer money. The non-profit set aside money to assist with just this kind of emergency.
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