PLAINFIELD, N.J. (PIX11) — Earlier this week Maria and her son Elias were given 24 hours to leave their apartment in Plainfield, NJ, and take their belongings with them.
The result of a mandatory emergency vacate order issued by Plainfield city inspectors, who issued more than 200 violations.
“She’s saying that water comes out every time we take a shower, like water comes out the walls,” said Elias who translated for his Spanish-speaking mother.
It is unclear if the water leaks, missing bathroom tiles, and makeshift electrical wiring in Maria’s apartment are included in any of the building’s outstanding citations, which include sewage, the discovery of mold, and other issues.
The vacate order subsequently sent 49 displaced families scrambling to find temporary food and shelter.
“We are living with one of our cousins. She’s just mad that they took us out of here,” Elias added.
Several tenants say they have been complaining to the landlord for months about various building issues, with no action.
PIX11 News even met the superintendent, who says the building’s old boiler is out of commission. Nadia and her 13-year-old daughter Giselle hope that includes their toilet which is now jerry-rigged with a garden hose.
The managing partner for the Long Island-based Cyclone Investment Group, which owns the property, sent PIX11 News a short statement with no repair timeline. It reads in part, “We are doing everything possible to return our tenants to their homes as quickly, safely, and responsibly as possible.”
But Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp spoke Wednesday to a crowd of angry tenants and said the city’s own conversations with the company have so far not gone well.
“It is clear to us that this landlord is heartless, and uncaring about his tenants, and is driven by greed and profits,” said Mayor Mapp.
In an updated statement released late Thursday, Cyclone Investment Group said it paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a management company that failed to carry out maintenance and repairs on this property. The company set up a new email account for tenants, now contractors are on site, and the company promises the majority of the work will be done in “short order.”
