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In the video, she also showed a hallway with water on the floor and a room that appeared to have black mold.
NEW ORLEANS — It has been seven months since Hurricane Ida struck southeast Louisiana, forcing some New Orleans senior apartment complexes to close due to damage. Tenants at a senior living center were finally told to move back in last week, but they reached out to WWL-TV for help, claiming conditions were still not livable.
“This is entering my building at Peace Lake Towers,” Lucrece Phillips said in a video that showed scaffolding overhead.
In the video, she also showed a hallway with water on the floor and a room that appeared to have black mold.
“This is where we live,” she said.
Peace Lake Towers on Chef Menteur is an income-based complex for seniors 55 and older and those with disabilities. In September, the city closed it after realizing it was no longer habitable due to damage from Hurricane Ida.
“During Hurricane Ida, the generators broke here, so the elderly were locked in here for about a week,” she said.
Phillips said tenants have since received hotel vouchers as the complex was under construction until last week.
“They just told us it was time for us to come back, that they couldn’t pay for the hotel anymore,” she said.
“This is the hall where I live; Dirt, dust, debris,” she said in the video she took of her hallway.
They fear the construction work doesn’t seem to be complete yet.
“You can see with your own eyes that it’s incomplete, but they saw fit to bring us back here,” said another tenant, Wayne Gardner. “You blocked the shoots where you put the trash, now the trash just piles up. The garbage just keeps piling up.”
Last week, Phillips found a letter from her property manager informing her that her home had been broken into in January. She is unsure what was taken and what is missing from her unit due to the construction.
“We are missing so many items. My bed, my TV is missing, they can’t find it,” she said.
Phillips bought an air mattress and was promised by management that she would get a refund.
The seniors turn to Councilman Oliver Thomas for help.
“Definitely the place is not finished. My assistant went there a week ago and said there’s no way they should be bringing people in again,” Thomas said.
He plans to contact management next week to find out why residents were allowed to move back in.
“Gross mistreatment. Misunderstanding. Definitely not humanitarian,” he said of the conditions.
Thomas also plans to send code enforcement into the complex.
“The city needs to inspect this place to see if it’s compliant with repossession regulations,” he said.
“That’s not livable for any human building. How would you like to live on a construction site?” said Gardner in frustration.
“My worries and concerns are the health and safety issues here and returning before it’s fully finished,” Phillips said.
They are hoping for answers to ensure they live in a safe place.
“Somebody has to do something about this,” Phillips said in the video she took from inside the complex.
WWL-TV has emailed the management of Peace Lake Towers and its upper management company, Ohio’s Millennia Companies, but their office is not open on Sundays, so we have yet to receive a response.
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RELATED: Wednesday’s tornado has been confirmed as an EF-1 in Roseland
