NEW ORLEANS —
A few residents of an apartment complex in Central City New Orleans are cleaning up after someone came in through a broken door and activated the sprinkler system, flooding parts of the first and second floors, according to one of the residents and caretakers.
Monroe Silas Jr., one of five residents living on the property at 2135 2nd Street, says he was in his room around 7:30 p.m. Monday night when he heard someone in the hallway in front of his apartment door.
“I am peeking through the hole and I can see a shadow of a man and I didn’t know who it was.”
Silas says he then smelled something funny and called the police.
“I smelt them lighting something like it was burnt and then I just heard this rain sound.”
Silas says someone broke in, lit a piece of paper and held it up to the fire sprinkler system on the second floor. It was activated and it flooded the second floor before the water flowed down to the first, according to Silas.
“All the water flowed down and when it hit the tiles it just crumbled. The fire department came out, turned it off and this is the aftermath I am cleaning up,” said Silas with his mop and bucket in hand.
Silas says the person who did this got in through a broken door. Even before the flooding there were other problems with the building which is owned by New Home Full Gospel Ministries. The elevators don’t work, there isn’t a working laundry, there is broken glass and some have reported air conditioning issues. About a half mile away at the other cabbage alley apartment complex on Baronne Street -- owned by the same group -- there are similar issues.
District B. council member Jay H. Banks said he first learned about the issues Tuesday morning after a neighbor called. He has since called the health department and code enforcement to investigate the matter further.
“We certainly don’t want anyone to live in conditions that don’t sound to be in a humane fashion,” said Banks. “I have not seen it. The only thing I had was a phone call but we have called the people who are responsible for investigating such to determine what is there.”
The building was acquired by New Home Full Gospel Ministries from Cabbage Alley Partnership LLC in April 2017. Multiple attempts to try to contact New Home Full Gospel Ministries were unsuccessful. Silas says the owners are trying to fix up the building.
“I am patient because we have good landlords now -- it's just they are trying to catch up. They are good people. They take better care of the building then it’s been taken care of in years,” said Silas.
The person who activated the sprinkler system got away, according to Silas. The NOPD did not respond to requests.
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