Residents of Glendale Manor Apartments had a rude awakening yesterday when city officials plastered eviction notices on their doors, demanding they vacate by 5 p.m. that evening. The forced exodus, cited by the city due to non-compliant and hazardous living conditions, has plunged many tenants into a sudden scramble for shelter, as per AZFamily's report.
"We were sleeping this morning when we got the bang on the door," tenant Veronica Burciaga told AZFamily, expressing frustration at the abruptness of the city's notice and the personal cost of moving on such short notice, "It’s ridiculous, ‘cause we don’t have the money for it." Some residents, like Daniele, were found hastily packing their belongings, uncertain of their next move. "Me and my husband, my significant other, we are trying to throw things in bags. We don’t know what we are going to do with our furniture," she told FOX 10 Phoenix.
The notices came after the city's repeated efforts to get the complex, riddled with issues like faulty stairwells, electrical problems, and plumbing emergencies, up to code since 2019 failed to yield adequate results. Rick St. John, Glendale Deputy Manager, emphasized the owner's failure to take the city's warnings seriously. "They’re having a basic maintenance guy deal with it, rather than hiring the professional contractor to come in and do the work," St. John said to AZFamily.
Complaints from Glendale Manor's tenants have been documented over the years, including termites, lack of air conditioning, and hot water – a fact noted in coverage by FOX 10 Phoenix. The grim conditions led to the complex being designated as a "slum property" in May 2022. "We are still pursuing the details of the slum ordinance and what the city can do to put pressure on the owner, and what legal action the city will take against the owner to hold him accountable," St. John explained to FOX 10.
Glimmers of assistance shone through, as St. John mentioned that families are being accommodated with contracts with hotels and safe units on the property's first floor. "They are telling us that they have a safe location for everyone who is being relocated," he assured, though the long-term repair plan, involving hiring a structural engineer to address the stairwells' integrity, is expected to take several months.
Media attempts to reach the management and the property owner were met with dead ends – calls went unanswered, and reporters were removed from the premises upon inquiry.
