1. FIRES: In the past six years, at Heritage House Apartments in East Orange, NJ, there were three general alarm fires: one (4th Floor) mentally impaired resident set her apartment on fire intentionally, severely damaging other units; another mentally impaired resident (9th Floor) had lunch cooking on the stove and took a nap, causing extensive smoke; three weeks ago as of this writing, a third (7th Floor) bed ridden, cognitively impaired woman started a cigarette fire, and as reported on major NY TV stations. she and her 3 year old grandson were killed in that fire. Reportedly, the toddler's mother was out "partying" (resident descriptions) while she left her the child with her invalid mother (authorities had removed two of her other children from her care).
Before the most recent fire, I was in the hospital. I found out about the fire, not from a call by the building manager, but by channel 2 news. My apartment at Heritage House, is trashed. A week ago, I was discharged from the medical unit. I could not go back to my apartment. I learned how serious the water damage was, not by a call from the building manager who could have easily attained my hospital room phone number from neighbors, but from my next door neighbor. It was through the benevolence of Allstate Insurance that I was permitted to stay in the hospital for another week, rather than be homeless as my apartment, unlike others below the apartment where the fire occurred, was not habitable due to extreme water damage to the bathroom, retaining wall, kitchen, wall and floor tile, carpeting and other components. This is the third instance of water damage to my apartment; last year a faulty toilet gasket in the apartment directly over my own caused similar damage to the bathroom.
2. BUILDING RENOVATION DEFICIENCIES: Last year, property owner Related Management-Fern, inc. received a government grant for a huge undisclosed sum, interior and exterior renovations at Heritage House were performed under Della Construction auspice. The construction work was visibly shoddy. In addition, two new/refurbished elevators were installed by two apparently intoxicated (or otherwise "high") workers. Immediately after their installations, breakdowns were constant and frequent.
In my apartment, kitchen and bathroom upgrades were downgrades; wheelchair accessibility was more difficult in all instances afterward. Poor construction included nails bent over on wood surface in sink woodwork and cabinetry. Worse, I caught construction crew supervisors in no less than five lies within a three minute conversation - two examples: James & Charles stipulated the considerable brick dust which entered my and other's apartment contained no silica, a hazardous brick and mortar element. Days later I was rushed to a nearby hospital with respiratory arrest. The diagnoses was Silicoses, breathing passage inflammation from silica. The foremen also claimed new insulation was in place around windows as part of new facade brickwork. No such insulation was installed and window drafts this past winter were worse than winter seasons before.
I fear apartment fires will occur again, because Heritage House continues to house residents with serious cognitive impairments who, of course, should not be institutionalized, but placed in assisted living facilities where they will be more closely supervised. I also believe the misrepresented apartment upgrades should be scrutinized and re-evaluated by federal ADA (Americans with Disability Act) authorities.
I hereby attest all statements made by me herein are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and recollection.
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