When Luis Cabrera woke up around 5:30 a.m, he immediately called 911 to report an emergency: His ceiling was sagging and leaking heavily, his closet was flooded, and his clothes destroyed.
“I was scared for my family,” said Cabrera, who lives on the top floor of 447 – 449 Elm St.
Cabrera returned to the scene Friday, a day after city officials ordered his apartment building to be evacuated. Cabrera, his wife and 7‑year-old daughter were one of seven families displaced by the evacuation and sent to a nearby hotel.
Responding to Cabrera’s call, city building officials showed up to the three-story building Thursday morning. The leaking roof, along with stress fractures from heavy snow on the Elm Street structure, prompted them to order a full evacuation by 8:30 a.m.
The building management company, Kensington Square, provided temporary housing at the Econo Lodge in New Haven for the evacuees, but no rides.
Cabrera took most of the families to the hotel in his white van.
“A city official came banging on my door around 8 in the morning,” said Deborah Lee, who lives on the second floor. They gave her and her 16 year old daughter 10 minutes to get out, she said. “We didn’t have much time to get any of our stuff.”
“It’s a good thing Luis was here,” Lee said. “I don’t know how we would have gotten to the hotel otherwise.”
“Rather Safe Than Sorry”
Uma Ramiah Photos
“We evacuated the residents as a precautionary measure,” said Sherry Garner, a portfolio manager at Kensington Management.
“One of our residents on the third floor reported a leak, and the ceiling was sagging. I think people are a little nervous because of the incident in Middletown.”
An three story brick building collapsed Wednesday morning on Middletown’s main street.
Garner said Kensington is working with the city, including Building Official Andy Rizzo, to get the building inspected and the roof cleaned off.
“The city came and inspected the building,” she said. “They saw some indication of cracks in the ceiling.”
She said a licensed roofer planned to remove the snow Friday after a structural engineer assesses the condition of the building.
“Hopefully the residents will be back in their homes tonight,” she said Friday.
Rizzo said that while the city hadn’t condemned the building, structural instability was a possibility. “So we decided to empty the building.”
Kensington had agreed to get the snow off the roof, he said, but the city planned to wait for the engineer’s assessment to let people back in. He said the inspection should be completed this afternoon, and one of his inspectors will be present. He echoed Garner’s hope that the residents would be back in their homes by Friday night.
But he’s waiting for the engineer’s report, he said. “Rather safe than sorry.”
This is Our Home
“We’re really suffering here,” said Luis Cabrera, who owns a mobile taco truck called Tripletas & More. He was waiting outside the building Friday afternoon for the visit from the inspector and engineer.
“I pay rent for this apartment for what? Kensington is always making excuses,” he said. He’s not satisfied with the management company, he said. “They don’t do a good job.”
Cabrera said he was there to make sure no one broke in while everyone was away. And he wanted to see the engineer. “They said the guy would be here by 1 p.m, but I haven’t seen anyone yet.”
It was 1:20 p.m.
“I want to make sure he shows up,” he said. “This is our home. We just want to come back and stay in peace with our families.”
Lee was at the building on Friday to find out where her mail was. A sign on the door said it was at the Kensington office.
“Is your apartment wet, Luis?” she asked.
“It’s completely soaked, all over the floor and ceiling,” he replied.
“Oh, no. So you’ve got damage then,” she said, shaking her head.
Lee said she wasn’t sure if her apartment had water damage. The city official made her leave too quickly to find out, she said.
“You know, we all just went grocery shopping,” she said. “All our food is in there.” It’s a low-income housing complex, said Lee, so most people go shopping at the beginning of the month, when their checks come in.
“I don’t have money to go out and buy other food.”
Cabrera agreed.
The pair walked to the back of the building, sliding over an icy pathway, to check out Cabrera’s window. Icicles hung from the roof and the doors on each floor had been boarded up.
“They did that yesterday to make sure no one broke in,” said Cabrera.
Lee said she and her daughter would stay on Elm Street if they are allowed back in. She said she likes the apartments. “The inside is really nice.”
But Cabrera said he wasn’t so sure. “I might pack up my family and try to find another place,” he said.