Revere residents still seeking recourse from landlord of condemned high-rise after fire
REVERE - Paul Noonan walked out of the Water's Edge high rise in Revere, Tuesday, lugging two bags of belongings. He says in the three weeks since the building suffered a fire on an 11th-floor balcony he has lived in his car and in a hotel.
"Had to put up $5,000 to get into a place. I was living in the back of my car. Everything, it's atrocious the way they treat you," Noonan said.
The fire took place on June 21 and the building was condemned by inspectors last week. Since then, tenants say they have not received a $750 relocation fee or their deposits back from property management company Carabetta Properties.
"You can't treat people this way. We're human beings. We're not animals," Noonan said.
There is a long history of safety issues at the Water's Edge building, according to a statement by Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo. Arrigo said Carabetta Properties has been issued 70 fines since 2004 and owes the city more than $1 million in outstanding bills.
"Sadly, the Carabetta family also refuses to acknowledge responsibility for their tenants or their tenant's legal rights," Arrigo wrote, "The City of Revere will not allow Carabetta to disregard their obligations to our city and their residents. We will continue to pursue every legal option available to hold them accountable for their inaction."
In 2018, WBZ's I-team reported that the building at 370 Ocean Avenue did not have working elevators.
State Senator Lydia Edwards wrote a letter to the Suffolk County District Attorney and Attorney General asking them to look into Carabetta.
"At this point, there's just systemic issues with this particular owner and I want nothing more than for them to pay, heavily," Edwards said.
