BAYTOWN – Vanessa Sylvester said she’s been dealing with flooding issues for nearly a year, but after having to dodge a soggy ceiling that almost fell on her head last week, she said she can’t take it anymore.
“I’m on the phone with my mom in the Caribbean and there’s this loud explosion,” Sylvester said.
That thunderous bang inside her Bay Pointe apartment home in Baytown that sent her running last Wednesday, was her ceiling falling.
She said it’s the culmination of consistent flooding issues that had been going on since last September.
“It started from the bedroom and the back room,” she said.
She showed KPRC2 video that she says shows workers throwing gallons of water off of her leaky roof that still hasn’t been fixed, causing leaks and buckling ceilings in every room.
“Right now, if you go back there, you’ll see that the ceiling is coming down in the bathroom (and) the water would fall. I have a bucket that collects water,” she explained.
Sylvester said the constant leaks that have damaged expensive electronics, clothes, and furniture aren’t even the worst part.
“We realized the floor is just stained up,” she said, adding that mold grows every time it floods and has made her asthma worse.
On top of that, she said the management at the apartment complex hasn’t been much help.
“We look up and there is a water bubble, there’s another one right here. They told us if it’s not falling down they don’t fix it,” she said.
Wednesday, the massive hole in her ceiling had been patched, but she says that nothing was done about the mold still growing in her ceilings and walls.
When KPRC 2 went to the leasing office for answers, an employee said: “We’re taking care of the issue, but y’all have to stay off the property.”
Sylvester said on Tuesday the city of Baytown told management they had 15 days to fix the issues or they will face fines. Sylvester said they don’t seem to understand the issues, including the mold, which has so far just been covered up.
In the meantime, she and her son have been bouncing from place to place. The family is currently in touch with Lonestar Legal Aid, the free legal service, and is pursuing action.
