Pipes burst at Troy apartment hours after city officials step in to help residents with no heat
TROY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - It's clear that residents at Troy Place Apartments cannot seem to get a break after a main water break Thursday night.
"We're sitting down here, and the water main frame broke, and water is pouring everywhere. It is just ridiculous," resident Caleb Olszewski says.
It comes on the same day the City of Troy stepped in and issued a "Do Not Occupy" order after several complaints from residents at the apartment. The letter listed the complex as "uninhabitable" and required all residents to evacuate due to the lack of heat, broken elevators, and frozen pipes inside the complex.
Around 7 p.m. Thursday night, those same frozen pipes bursted. A video from a resident inside shows the water flooded nearly the entire first floor.
"It's completely flooded up to, there is a barrier right there, at least 6 inches. Yeah, people are talking about water going into their rooms. Who knows what's going to happen."
While some residents like Dominic Fosmore moved out of his unit with his girlfriend after receiving the "Do Not Occupy" order on his front door, he says other tenants were moving in.
"There is a gentleman that is literally moving in today. We saw him in the elevator, and we are like, 'Dude, we are so sorry.' He's like 'It is what it is. We got to get things fixed,'" Flosmore said.
Despite being told by the building inspector to leave, and given vouchers to stay at local hotels at a discounted rate, a handful of residents, like Olszewski, decided to stay put.
"The biggest joke of them all, this place is offering us a discount at these Red Roof Inn rate hotels where we still have to pay $70 a night, that's $700 if this place is going on for 10 days. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? What are we doing here," Olszewski said.
Resident Shaila Rai says she moved into Troy Place Apartments eight months ago and while she has not had any issues with her unit, and understands the safety risk it could pose staying at the complex, moving out is not an option.
"We can't just easily leave. And coming from California and living here, we are the only two people here. It's like okay, you're telling us to vacate? What, we go live in a hotel?" Rai says.
Amid all this chaos, the property owners are nowhere to be found.
"It's atrocious what's going on. The people don't listen to us. The ownership is crap. People have reached out to them including you guys, and there is no response. You're making millions of dollars a year. Help a little guy out. It's not that hard," Olszewski says.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the property owners at Troy Place Apartments but has yet to receive a response.