3 On Your Side: City issues citations against apartment owners - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

3 On Your Side: City issues citations against apartment owners

By  Julie Straw - bio | email | twitter

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - It is hard to imagine anyone, let alone children, living amongst the dead rats, abandoned apartments, broken windows and trash at the Nova Park Apartments. 

But families do live there and tenants they are tired of the filthy conditions.

"Would you allow your children or your kin folk to live here? That's the question," said Dana Ward who has lived at Nova Park for roughly three years.

A murder outside the complex on November 28th prompted 3 On Your Side to take a closer look at the conditions in and around the property. 

City of Jackson spokesperson Chris Mims said it was WLBT that made them aware of the situation. 

He immediately dispatched community improvement officers to the apartments.

They wrote citations for the broken windows and fixtures, possible mold and vacant units that need to be boarded up.

Mims gave this statement:

"Community Improvement did inspect a number of units at the Nova Park Apartments and did note a number of code violations, particularly in the vacant units.  There were citations for broken windows, broken fixtures, possible mold and the vacant units need to be boarded up.   There were also a few minor citations for the occupied apartments.   Community Improvement will notify the owner this week of those code violations that need to be corrected."

Land rolls list the owners as Ernest and Levern Bouldin in Los Angeles, California.  

"It's just a shame it kind of brings tears to my eyes to think there are people out here like that," said Ward.

Alice Lewis, the landlord, is also a Jackson State Univ. professor.  

Lewis told WLBT some of the tenants have judgements against them for failure to pay rent. 

Ward said he stopped paying only after the apartment became unlivable. 

"Basically we were already complaining.  I just pray the landlord or owners can fix the situation," said Ward.

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