Complaints concerning apartment complex continue

Eric Leake

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

Eunice Allen says that Buena Vista Springs apartment management had answered her complaints about not having heat in the winter by giving her two space heaters; complaints about no air conditioning were answered with the opening of a window.

"I keep going to them and going to them. They keep ignoring me and ignoring me," Allen said.

She said her heating and cooling was finally fixed Tuesday after she went all winter without heat. Tuesday was also the day that a local grass-roots organization had called for a press conference to spotlight the problems at the 86-apartment federally subsidized complex located 2417 Morton Ave. in North Las Vegas near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue.

During winter at the complex, the space heaters hadn't helped much, Allen said.

"It was freezing. I was always cold. When I came home from work and climbed into bed, the bed was like ice," Allen said. "Two space heaters is what they brought me, and that's what I had from Nov. 18 until today."

The complex is subsidized through the Department of Housing and Urban Development for low-income residents, and HUD Las Vegas Field Office Director Kenneth LoBene said there have been concerns about the living conditions at Buena Vista Springs for years.

"We have been working with Buena Vista over the past several years to improve the living conditions there," LoBene said. "I don't think we would be in the position we are right now if they had addressed all of the previous issues."

After a recent inspection, HUD gave apartment management a 30-day notice Friday to improve conditions, LoBene said. Follow-up inspections are scheduled April 19 and 20.

LoBene said it is very uncommon for unacceptable conditions to persist until a 30-day notice. If conditions are do not improve, HUD will consider options that may include giving residents vouchers and helping them find housing away from Buena Vista Springs, he said.

"This is the most serious step we can take," LoBene said.

Allen's problems were just one example of the issues at the complex, but LoBene refused to provide details about what else inspectors found at the complex, saying only that the complex did not meet HUD standards.

Buena Vista Springs was purchased in 1995 by New York-based Creative Choice West, according to county records. Calls to apartment management Wednesday afternoon were not returned.

After months of waiting for her air conditioning and heating to be fixed, Allen said she called local offices of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. That group had initially planned to conduct a press conference at the complex on Tuesday.

ACORN head organizer Will Ward said he talked to other Buena Vista Springs residents and found Allen was not the only one living in poor conditions. In addition to the lack of heating in numerous apartments, Ward said he saw and was told of household mold, sagging ceilings, roof leaks, and toilets that would not flush.

One single mother of three had to wait nearly two months to have an external door replaced after it had been set on fire and nearly burned off its hinges, Ward said.

When residents would complain, Ward said, they were not told to give their complaints in writing. Still, repairs were not made, Ward said.

"I'd say everyone who had problems had complained about them and had been left hanging for some time," Ward said. "I think a lot of people have felt fairly helpless."

He said residents also complained of frequent apartment inspections that did not result in repairs.

"At this complex there seems to be real dysfunction of how they operate," Ward said.

He also said he believes the complex is just one example of public housing with these types of problems.

North Las Vegas code enforcement management was not available for comment Wednesday because managers were on a planning retreat, city officials said.

Allen said her heating and air conditioning are now working, but she questions management's motives and timing after she called attention to the complex.

"They're scared because they know what they're doing is wrong," she said.

Allen said the problem is larger than management's attention to her heating and air conditioning.

"They treat people like they're not human," she said. "There are a lot of people in here struggling."