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Toxic Mold In Building
San Gabriel Valley Tribune,
California, April 4, 2003
Residents evacuated due to toxic mold
Building owner may face prosecution
By Marshall Allen and Gary Scott, Staff
Writers
PASADENA -- Pasadena City officials ordered 111 people (49 of them children) to be
evacuated from the Cinema 21 apartment building this week, after learning
the building was contaminated with toxic mold.
As they were moving out of their studio and one-bedroom apartments,
children played in the dilapidated halls while their parents scrambled to
gather possessions and motel vouchers for what city officials said could
be weeks away from the building.
Several third- floor apartments at the 38-unit Cinema 21, located in
the 800 block of E. Washington Boulevard, were evacuated in February,
after rain poured through the building's rotten ceiling and dripped
through its hallways. Some apartment doors still bear the sticker: DO NOT
ENTER, UNSAFE TO OCCUPY. After the rains city officials ordered the
building's owner, Norman Furman of San Diego, to repair the roof. Those
repairs are still being made.
A preliminary report on the building's health conditions was done in
part because of the wetness, said the city's Chief Prosecutor, Connie
Orozco, a member of the City Resources Against Slum Housing team. Two
molds Aspergillus and Stachybotrys are present in the building, according
to the report, Orozco said.
Exposure to the molds can cause various ailments, including allergies,
infections and respiratory problems, according to health experts.
Though the level of contamination is unknown, the report recommended
the building be evacuated immediately, Orozco said. A final report is
expected Monday, and the CRASH team then will decide when residents can
return to the building, Orozco said.
Five-day motel vouchers were provided to the residents by the
Ecumenical Council of Pasadena Area Churches. The group's executive
director Frank Clark said he's "never seen a building that bad in the city
of Pasadena.'
Despite the fact that the paint is peeling, the carpets are filthy, the
light fixtures are falling and the building smells, the residents have
made it home, Clark said.
"When you go into the individual homes, you find articles of their
faith, clean dishes and the beds are made,' he said.
City Councilman Victor Gordo, who represents the area, said the
evacuation, which started Wednesday and concluded Friday, should send a
"strong message to this and any other landlord' who lets a building fall
into a similar state of disrepair.
"They either better get on top of the situation and do the right thing
by improving living conditions or turn the building over to someone who
will,' Gordo said. "If they are not willing to do that then the city will
be forced to take the action it took this week. Either do it, or get out
of the business.'
City officials should have evacuated the building long before the rains
came, said resident Ladonna Woodley.
"I've been to the city several times and they never did anything,'
Woodley said. "Now, they don't have a choice.'
The situation is being investigated and Furman, who's owned the
building for about 20 years, may be prosecuted because of the conditions,
Orozco said.
"This really is the landlord's responsibility, but we're stepping in to
make sure (the residents) are well taken care of,' Orozco said.
Furman did not return phone
calls.
Is Your Landlord Unconcerned and Uncaring about Your Apartment or
Rental House or Condominium Mold Problems?
You should seek out the advice
of an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law or in environmental
law. You also may consider using the Tenant Notices to Landlord about
Mold, about which you can read on the rest of this page below. For
more info please visit Mold Legal Form Notice
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