WILMA DAMAGE Owners tied to moldy condos

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Posted on Sun, Dec. 18, 2005

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13427107.htm

WILMA DAMAGE Owners tied to moldy condos

Miami Herald - FL

Almost two months after Hurricane Wilma ravaged Broward County's

housing stock, pockets of condo residents are still living in leaky,

moldy apartments.BY NATALIE P. McNEALnmcneal@...

sheets resembling Saran Wrap line the ceiling of Gertrude Kinsman's

Sunrise Lakes condominium, covering the patches that fell in during

the rainstorms after Hurricane Wilma. Buckets sit on the floor of

the guest bedroom to catch the water that comes in when it rains.

Hurricane Wilma spared Kinsman, 90, the worst of its wrath, allowing

her to still live in her condo after many of her neighbor's units

were condemned.

The condo association has a contractor scrambling to make roof

repairs on 48 buildings in Sunrise Lakes, and Kinsman has had to

call him four times to find the leak in the roof. It's still a

mystery. But Kinsman says she's not complaining -- and she's not

moving.

''There are [many] buildings here,'' Kinsman said. ``You've got to

take care of the worst first.''

Kinsman is like many other seniors living in condo communities in

Broward County impacted by the storm. The condos, built to old and

relatively weak building standards, are crumbling. Aging roofs leak,

admitting water deeper into the buildings after each new rain.

When Hurricane Wilma first hit on Oct. 24, scores of people

evacuated from crumbling ceilings and water-logged living rooms. Now

others who were fortunate to not have a totaled building, are

waiting for repairs from over-booked contractors.

Sunrise Lakes and several communities in Lauderdale Lakes and

Lauderhill were among the hardest hit.

, redevelopment director for the city of Lauderdale Lakes

said he is concerned about residents staying in less-than-ideal

conditions.

''It's a rolling problem,'' said. ``All the insidious leaks

people think are OK now will create even more problems. And with the

water hidden in the buildings, it's generating mold and mildew.''

In Lauderdale Lakes' Hawaiian Gardens, the city declared 12 of the

complex's 44 building unsafe, meaning the city urges residents to

leave.

But the city hasn't forced them to do so.

UNSAFE STRUCTURE

Utiva , 61, and her husband Love, 75, live in a Hawaiian

Gardens building that has been declared unsafe by the city.

When the storm hit, and her husband evacuated from the

second floor condo, living in an American Red Cross shelter and then

with her daughter before returning to her building.

Her daughter didn't have any electricity. At the shelter, it was

hard to put in her husband's feeding tube.

The es think it's better to live in the building even though

most of their neighbors have fled.

''I hope we're okay here,'' said Utiva , who doesn't have

insurance and is waiting for Federal Emergency Management Agency

assistance. ``I don't have anywhere else to go.''

Dan Paz, 71, lives in the same building as the es, and

refuses to leave his condo, despite the mold that is growing in

every room.

Even Paz's wife left him to go live with her brother in Sunrise. The

mold aggravated her asthma. The mold is so bad in the master

bathroom that Paz keeps the door closed for fear that the mold

spores will spread.

''I want to stay here as long as I can,'' said Paz. ``I want to

watch over everything until they start working on my apartment.''

`NO JURISDICTION'

Meanwhile, the condo association president wishes the city would

kick people out for health reasons.

''They say there is no jurisdiction to kick people out,'' said

Barclay, 46, who is living in a friend's home. ``But there are some

people living here who shouldn't be. But they say they don't want to

leave.''

Lauderdale Lakes say that there isn't much they can do.

''We've given warning to people that they should leave,''

said. ``We are trying to be sensitive to the fact that some people

can't and won't leave.''

Joe Cosi, who oversees housing for Broward County, says that

contractors are overwhelmed with new clients and there is a shortage

of building materials.

FEMA aid is available, as is assistance through the county.

Meanwhile, back at Sunrise Lakes, Sylvia , 93, must live in

the front room of her two-bedroom condo. Her bedroom is waterlogged.

Like her neighbor Kinsman, every time it rains, she gets worried.

's concerns are not so much with money -- she has insurance -

- but to ensure her condo is fixed.

Much of the ceiling in her apartment is plastic. Every time it

rains, water seeps into her condo.

She spends a lot of time mopping up the water that doesn't make it

to the buckets.

and her neighbors are sharing a wet vac to salvage their

carpets.

''I'm exhausted from all this mopping,'' said , who uses a

walker. ``Where is the help?''