A Navy veteran living in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood has dealt with a host of problems since moving into his apartment in October, and is having a hard time finding answers.
“My kitchen started leaking from here and this was the result,” Paul Neal said. “This is all mildew and mold that you see around on the door like this one on the top.”
The 40-year-old who served in the Navy said the ceiling collapsed in his bedroom last week and that days prior he noticed water leaking from the ceiling and the floor buckling.
“If its happening on this tier it’s happening underneath us as well,” he said. “I’m not sure if there are kids underneath.”
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Neal moved back to Chicago almost two years ago and has been receiving help from Featherfist. The organization said more than 50% of the people they serve are homeless veterans. He and his case manager said they have called and emailed the management company about the issues.
“I’m trying to be patient I’m just being patient and still counting my blessings,” he said. “There are still a lot of homeless people still with no place to stay.”
NBC Chicago reached out to the management company Thursday. The managing broker told us they inspected the apartment on Tuesday and this was strictly a weather-related issue due to a cracked pipe in the basement and that the damage was from the steam that traveled up through the walls and ceiling of the unit.
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He released a statement to NBC Chicago and said in part, “We offered Mr. Neal a temporary stay in this unit until his unit is completely repaired. It is my understanding that he opted for a hotel instead and we have offered to reimburse him. I also told him I would credit his January rent for the inconvenience.”
Neal said the issues have been building and that he’s filed complaints with 311 and even reached out to his alderman. He said this week was the first time he's heard back from the management company and that he received another call from the company after we got involved.
Neal said contractors have been on site working on the repairs as of Thursday evening. The management company said they hope to have the problem fixed by Jan. 23.
Neal is staying at a hotel for the time being and hopes this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
