Residents of an apartment building in Worcester, Massachusetts, are scrambling to figure out where to go next after a part of the roof of their building collapsed on Friday morning.
Leonela Jimenez grabbed get children and husband and rushed out their door.
“We just think about them, you know what I mean. We just made sure that they are safe and they are OK and that nothing happens to us,” said Jimenez.
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No one was injured in the incident on Mill Street, across from Coes Reservoir, the Worcester Fire Department said, but about 100 people were displaced -- with some placed in a hotel for a week while they find another place to live.
Worcester City District 5 Councilwoman Etel Haxhiaj is demanding answers from the owners of Pond View Apartments.
“They have to start anew. And so we rallied together as a community, but if we didn’t these families would literally be on the streets,” Haxhiaj noted.
City officials are now trying to determine what will happen to the building.
“We’re just going to monitor it with the property owner based on the situation,” said Acting Worcester City Manager Eric Batista. “Once we determine the assessment of what’s going to happen whether it needs to be demolished or remodeled, or rebuilt, that will give us a better perspective on what the next course of action is.”
The property owner turned down an on-camera interview with NBC10 Boston Monday night but said he offered to return security deposits to his tenants, reimburse them June and half of July’s rent, and give $750 dollars for relocation from his insurance.
That wasn’t enough for Haxhiaj.
“I’m just really frustrated that the landlord is doing the bare minimum required by law,” she said. “These folks need to be accountable; it was their mistake; they need to stand by the residents until they find housing.”
Residents will be meeting with housing organizations Tuesday to try to find a new place to live.
