Residents of Baldwin apartment building on School Street displaced by 'structural issues,' town says

Residents of a Baldwin apartment building stuffed whatever worldly possessions they could into suitcases and duffel bags and evacuated. Officials had determined that structural problems made the building unhabitable.

On Monday, Town of Hempstead officials could not immediately say how many residents were forced out of the building Sunday afternoon, or if those relocations were temporary or might be permanent.

Firefighters who responded to a stovetop fire about 4 p.m. Sunday in a unit of the School Street apartment building noticed potential structural problems, then contacted Hempstead's building department, which deemed an evacuation necessary, the town said.

Property records indicate the three-story building, on a dead-end street just west of Grand Avenue and just north of Merrick Road, was built in 1921 and has 12 rental units.

A spokesman for the Red Cross, Frederick Klein, said Monday that nine households — including 14 adults and two children — had been given temporary assistance from the organization.

As they waited outside the complex on a chilly Sunday afternoon, displaced residents described living for years with neglect from management and abhorrent conditions.

"This building has needed help for the longest time. It's in bad shape," resident Jennifer Gill, 61, told Newsday. "No human being should be living in there."

A representative for the company that owns the building, Baldwin Common Properties LLC, declined to comment.

In a statement Monday, the Town of Hempstead said the structural issues "observed" by inspectors followed the fire call Sunday — and that, as a result, "the building was deemed unsafe, subject to further inspection by a structural engineer."

A spokesman said the town had received a "no heat complaint" at the building during the winter, which was resolved following repairs.

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said Monday that on March 6, inspectors found the building was missing multiple carbon monoxide detectors and needed to service and clean its fire escape to bring it up to state fire code.

"They were due for a follow-up inspection, but then lo and behold, the Town of Hempstead shut the building down," Uttaro said.

Residents said they have dealt with other problems on a daily basis.

Charmaine Simmons, 64, said she had no electricity in half her apartment for weeks, describing a hole in her ceiling that leaks water and a series of rat and cockroach sightings.

Another resident, Daniel Duke, said he hasn’t had a working bathroom sink for three years, instead resorting to the bathtub to wash his hands.

On Sunday, a firefighter banged on Gill's door to alert her to the need to evacuate.

"I went back in to pack my pajamas and whatever overnight clothes I could gather together," Gill said.

By 6 p.m. Sunday, contractors had begun sealing off the apartments — locking the doors and surrounding the whole building with chain-link fencing.

Just before 7 p.m., Red Cross staffers began handing out debit cards to help displaced residents pay for hotel rooms or other short-term needs.

Peter Rosenthal, a Red Cross Disaster Action Team member, said the organization will also offer residents access to an emotional support group.

"When you have a disaster happen," Rosenthal said, "some people sort of get frozen."