Students' apartments condemned

By: Sumeet Patel

Posted: 1/28/05

Students living in the housing complex located at 35th St. and Lancaster Ave. have been given official notice by the City of Philadelphia to vacate the premises by Feb. 2.

The complex, owned by New Age Realty, suffered from lack of an adequate fire alarm system and violated a number of City zoning policies. The City alleges that New Age had been warned about previous infractions to urban building codes, but failed to either respond altogether or in a timely manner. Notices had been posted by City workers on the condemned houses but were later removed my persons unknown.

"I just opened my door one day to find a sticker telling me that my house was being condemned," Adam Bhaneus, a resident of a condemned house, told The Triangle. "I was surprised to hear that the City had been complaining to New Age for a while now before they issued this final warning."

"My concern is where am I going to live if we are kicked out," Richard Paul, another resident of the convicted houses commented.

"New Age claims that they will provide us with housing on their other properties, but it probably will be miles away from Drexel."

New Age plans to install a new furnace in the condemned houses Jan. 28 and a new fire system is in the works. However, according to Paul, New Age considers the condemnation notice as a threat that the City is not likely to follow through on. "It seems to me that City is just bent on closing these houses down because they are an eyesore to the community," Paul added. "But at the same time, I don't think New Age is all that innocent either because the buildings definitely haven't been kept up to standards."

"When [my roommates and I] first moved in, we had to withhold rent just to get New Age to do some repairs in the house." Pearce Muncy, yet another affected resident, said. "And they were serious repairs too like fixing the indoor plumbing and repairing the front porch steps."In its defense, New Age claims that because the condemned buildings sit on a historic location, it has been overwhelmed with city paperwork regarding maintenance of such sites. Although a few students had considered filing a lawsuit against New Age for negligence, most residents are concerned with the prospect of moving with midterms right around the corner.

"I'm the kind of guy that just rolls with the punches," Muncy said. "I'm just trying to hit the ground running and get back to my life, that's all."

New Age plans to refund security deposits and terminate leases prematurely for the residents of the condemned houses by the end of the month. The Triangle tried to contact New Age Realty, but failed to receive a response.