Horrendous smell, unsafe water among list of problems at apartment building

CARRICK, Pa. — Several residents at a Carrick apartment building are being forced out by the County Health Department because the property has been declared unsafe.

Channel 11's Jodine Costanzo was at the Berg Place Apartments when officials posted emergency evacuation orders at the building.

Tenants like Alysia Jones have been living in poor conditions for months, including horrible sanitation problems.

“This is an overflowing drain and all of that is toilet paper and sewage. It’s disgusting,” Jones said. “There’s sewage in my basement. It’s just disgusting. There are rodents running around.”

Channel 11 News has learned the landlord of the 14-unit building, Davin Gartley, has been cited numerous times by the county for illegal plumbing and water issues.

The front yards have exposed holes from plumbing work that was never finished, and a puddle of murky water sits in the parking lot.

“It’s very dirty,” Jones said.

Several of the neighbors said they were without water for about six weeks in the winter. They said they’re now getting water from garden hoses hooked up to another apartment.

The city issued Gartley more than 150 building code violations on Thursday, officials said. However, it’s the unsafe water that forced the county to shut the place down.

“What am I supposed to do with my stuff? Move my whole family? I can’t do that within 24 hours,” one tenant said.

The county is helping tenants find other housing.

Gartley is facing fines and can’t rent the units until he corrects the violations, officials said. He told Costanzo by phone that he’s “trying to fix the problem.”

WPXI