By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
Our 30 days from the landlord aren't up and they started working, tenant Ann Marie Candelaria said. It's a very unstable place to live. Candelaria and her husband, Marco, have been living in the 890 West Beech St. apartment for the last three years.
The landmark brick building, which at the ground level houses Lil' Sams and the former Sea Level shop, was sold in January to Cadd Beech Street LLC. of Brooklyn, which quickly began renovations of the building and notified tenants that they face a Feb. 28 eviction date, which tenants feel is not nearly enough time to find new housing.
Staten Island based V and V Construction has begun work on the interior and exterior of the building, as well as the vacant ground-floor store that was formerly Sea Level. Of the 24 apartments in the building, 11 are still occupied.
Cadd Beech Street LLC. could not be reached for comment for this article, but with still a month left before eviction residents said their living conditions have become unbearable with all of the construction work. Their air has become filled with dust, and thin plastic drapes placed over apartment doors have done little to keep the dust out, tenants say. Residents also said construction workers have left windows and doors of vacant apartments open, making heating their own apartments impossible.
I have a gap underneath my door and the dust just blows in, Candelaria said. She suffers from juvenile diabetes and has been to the hospital three times for swollen glands within the past week, she said, which she attributes to the dust in the air.
Charlie Hess, a tenant for eight years, has breathing problems from the dust and noted that the workers have masks but the tenants don't.
Nicole Rooney, whose mother has lived in the building for 14 years, said while her mother was slightly injured when a section of the ceiling fell on top of her while she was sleeping, which they feel could have been due to the vibrations from construction work. Even seven-year-old James Ray Jones, Rooney's son, has missed four days of school due to migraine headaches, she said.
After the ceiling collapse, tenants called the City of Long Beach Building Department. A stop work order was placed on construction in the residential area of the building on Monday, Jan. 14, according to building inspector Scott Kemins. He added that several summons have been issued for the construction work, including no sidewalk protection and improper placement of a dumpster.
We will not allow work to go on in the building in the residential area until it is vacated, Long Beach building commissioner Steven Polcer said. We will allow work to continue on the stores and on the roof.
The Nassau County Department of Health was on the site on Tuesday, Jan. 29, but as of press time no summons were issued.
Several building violations, however, were issued to the building's former owner on Jan. 15. According to Kemins, Gene Hamlet was fined $1,350 in Long Beach City Court for numerous building violations.
Rooney claimed that Hamlet never fixed anything in 14 years. I tried to contact him but there was never a response. Kemins said that with its purchase, Cadd Beech St. agreed to make the necessary repairs to the allegedly long-neglected building.
Hamlet declined to comment. In the meantime, the tenants are still fighting to at least be given more time to find new homes. Several tenants appeared in court on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to extend the eviction date, and they are gaining some support within the community.
Never in my life have I seen anything like this, said Denise Ford, president of the West End Neighbors Association. Ford is furious that living conditions like this exist, and is making an effort to fight the eviction date.
