Three Story Miami Beach Residential Building Evacuated Over Safety Concerns
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) - Just days after the Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach were evacuated due to safety concerns, residents of a three-story residential building in the 1600 block of Lenox Avenue after it was deemed unlivable.
Eduardo Catela, who has lived in the building since February, said he reported multiple times that his flooring was not level.
"From my window to my door, you can roll a coin, it is so unlevel that it rolls across my apartment. I told my landlord multiple times and I got no response," he said.
On Saturday, the Miami Beach fire department responded to a service call around 7 p.m. after a building inspector looked at the unit. H flagged a flooring system failure in the apartment and noted excessive damage on an exterior wall. The fire department then immediately required everyone to get out within five minutes.
Tenants are upset with the owner of the building.
"They should have worked on it before," said Tanbeer Mahmood, who lives on the second floor.
He said he's dealt with water damage, cracks, and a floor that is slightly tilted. He added that he's complained numerous times to the person who owns the building.
"There is a person who comes and checks out the conditions and sends the pictures to the owner of the building who lives in Italy. It just kept getting worse and worse," he said.
Mahmood said the building seems to be sinking and the unit underneath him was in worse condition
"The floors seem to be sinking, the walls kept sinking, the beams underneath the building were rusted," he said.
Those who were displaced from their homes said they were glad the fire department evacuated them. However, they feel they've been left out on the streets by the owner
"They were telling us to go to shelters, but there is no way we will go to a shelter. The owner is just not reaching out to us," said Mahmood.
CBS4 has reached out to the building's owner but has not received a response.
