Jersey City tenant out of patience in building with mold, leak problems

By Gem Jefferson/The Jersey Journal
February 07, 2010, 5:01PM
Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal



Andrea Nesbitt can't sleep in her bedroom at night because the mold grows across her window sills, there are leaks from the ceiling every time it rains and the heater in the room doesn't work.

Other than that, Nesbitt likes living at the Toy Factory Apartments at 340 Bergen Avenue in Jersey City.

That's not a joke. For $783 a month, she gets three bedrooms and some apartments there even have three bathrooms, she said.

That's why she has stayed so long, she says. But now she's getting tired of the problems -- issues like the mold that she says may impact the health of her children.

Nesbitt says the problems have existed since she first moved there in June 2008. Repairmen have cut holes in her ceiling try to locate the source of the leak, but with no success. She's gone to court and she's had health inspectors come -- and still the problems exist.

"I don't know what else to do. The city keeps giving them extensions to finish the work and still nothing," Nesbitt said.

Nesbitt's complaints aren't the only ones that Realty Management, which operates the building, has received. At least two other tenants have similar issues with their apartments.

Cecilia Henriquez and Hassane Azabi said they have rectangular holes in their ceilings to match Nesbitt's.

"We can't even leave our houses without checking the weather," Azabi said. "If it rains when we're not here, it's not pretty when we get back."

Wayne Fox, president of Realty Management, said his company is working toward a solution to the problem.

"We are working on the problem," Fox said Friday, adding that a roofer was scheduled to look at the building that day. "But leaks are hard to fix. You patch up what you think is the problem, and you wait until the next time it rains to see if you were successful.

"We just haven't been (successful) up until now."

You get what you pay for (?)

Gee,

Is that market rent for Greenville? Or is she Section 8 or some other government program? Does anyone know the financial setup of this buidlding?

I would very much like a 3 bedroom apartment for $783...although Greenville IS Greennville. If that 340 Bergen address is behind Snyder HS, it is the absolutely WORST part of the worst part of town.

If that mold in the corner of one windowsill is her major problem, a shot glass full of Clorox and a toothbrush once a month will take care of it.

Cecked on map: it is certainly near enough to the light rail station for convenience...a 4 minute walk (or a 2 minute run. ).

.....It's not behind Snyder.

nice looking building....

Toy Factory Apartments

Jersey City apartment ruined by leaky ceiling, mold

Monday, February 15, 2010
By GEM JEFFERSON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Andrea Nesbitt can't sleep in her bedroom at night because the mold grows across her window sills, water leaks from the ceiling every time it rains and the heater in the room doesn't work.

Other than that, Nesbitt likes living at the Toy Factory Apartments at 340 Bergen Ave., in Jersey City.

That's not a joke. For $783 a month, residents get three bedrooms, and some apartments even have three bathrooms, she said.

That's why she has stayed so long, she says. But now she is getting tired of the problems. The mold may be affecting the health of her children, she says.

Nesbitt says the problems have existed since she moved there in June 2008. Repairmen have cut holes in her ceiling to try to locate the source of the leak, but with no success. She's gone to court and she's had health inspectors come - and still the problems persist.

"I don't know what else to do. The city keeps giving them extensions to finish the work and still nothing," Nesbitt said.

Housing code officials inspected Nesbitt's apartment on Dec. 16 after receiving complaints and found nine violations: mold on the window sill of the three bedrooms, window seals that needed repair in the three bedrooms, the ceiling in the living needed repair, a leak needed to be fixed from the ceiling vent in the living room and a window seal in the living room needed repair.

The city gave Realty Management until Feb. 2 to address each violation, but when officials reinspected Nesbitt's apartment, only the last violation was fixed.

Nesbitt's complaints are not the only ones that Realty Management, which operates the building, has received. At least two other tenants have similar issues with their apartments.

Cecilia Henriquez and Hassane Azabi said they have rectangular holes in their ceilings to match Nesbitt's.

"We can't even leave our houses without checking the weather," Azabi said. "If it rains when we're not here, it's not pretty when we get back."

Wayne Fox, Realty Management president, said his company is working on it.

"We are working on the problem," Fox said, adding that a roofer was scheduled to look at the building that day. "But leaks are hard to fix. You patch up what you think is the problem, and you wait until the next time it rains to see if you were successful.

"We just haven't been (successful) up until now."

Realty Management was ordered to appear in municipal court on Feb. 23 to address the numerous violations.

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Yup. She's had mold for almost two years, yet stayed in the apartment because she liked the absurdly cheap rent. She could easily find a one bedroom for $783/month without a mold problem if she wanted.

She has a 3 bedroom...

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Let's see. There is mold. The ceilings leak (more than one apt.) The heater doesn't work. Whether or not the rent is cheap doesn't matter. That's the rent they charge.

It does matter that this building was totally gutted and converted into apartments. I'm more interested in who did such crappy work and how they got away with it.