Four days after getting evacuated from their homes, Community Within the Corridor apartment residents are fed up with the lack of progress in their situation. The Milwaukee Health Department ordered the evacuation of about 150 residents on Saturday from the apartment building near 32nd and Center.Recent testing inside showed dangerous levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) which is a chemical used for cleaning metal parts. An expert with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Tuesday said TCE is known to cause liver and kidney cancer and can pose a threat to women who are or may become pregnant, as it can cause serious issues in unborn children.Officials told residents to grab whatever they could bring and set them up in two hotels near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. “They didn’t have a timeframe. All of this is until further notice,” said Christa Bishop, who moved with her three children from a three-bedroom apartment to a two-bed single hotel room miles away from their home and the kids’ schools.”Getting everybody to their destination was every bit of 20 minutes before, now it’s closer to an hour,” Bishop said. In another hotel, Bridgett Wileer is also staying in a room with her two kids, one of whom needs to take a Milwaukee County Transit Bus to school.”It was about 10 or 15 minutes before, now it’s an hour bus ride for a 13-year-old,” Wileer said. “Why were we put in a place that had that chemical issue going on and expect us to live in that?”Families now living in hotel rooms told WISN 12 News on Wednesday they’re getting help from city services, like gift cards to help pay for the essentials, though with no kitchens to cook in, families quickly running out of money because of how much they’re eating out. “I’m literally on my way to the store to spend the last $24,” said Breana Weakley, who’s sharing gift cards with her sister and four nieces and nephews. “I have $400 worth of groceries in my home I can’t get to.”When asked what the toughest part of this situation has been, Bishop also agreed it was the food. “We are not fast food eaters. I cook. They are used to home-cooked meals. Fast food is very tiring,” Bishop said. “We do not have an appetite for fast food.”On Wednesday, Mayor Cavalier Johnson told WISN 12 News the city did not know about the vapor and chemical issues when the city’s Department of Neighborhood Services issued occupancy permits this summer.”The city was not even aware of those issues when the permit was issued for Community Within the Corridor,” Johnson said. “My belief is that someone with the ownership works it out with DNR, and that’s where the jurisdiction lies.”During a news conference on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said they sent multiple emails to developers of Community Within the Corridor apartments near 32nd and Center, recommending they get the level TCE under control before letting people move in. “The DNR had strongly recommended in writing a number of times that the developers wait to have the building occupied until they could confirm the vapor mitigation system was operating correctly,” said Christine Sieger, with the Division of Environmental Management at the DNR.Sieger said TCE has been in the soil on the property for years. Before being developed into an apartment building, it was an industrial site for decades.Documents obtained by WISN 12 News show the developers, Roers Companies, LLC and Scott Crawford, Inc., did install some mitigation measures, though recent testing showed TCE levels were far above anything considered safe.WISN 12 News asked for an on-camera interview with the developers multiple times and were denied. They did release a statement in part saying, “We are working with a third-party environmental engineering and remediation team that is addressing the underlying issues.”
Four days after getting evacuated from their homes, Community Within the Corridor apartment residents are fed up with the lack of progress in their situation.
The Milwaukee Health Department ordered the evacuation of about 150 residents on Saturday from the apartment building near 32nd and Center.
Recent testing inside showed dangerous levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) which is a chemical used for cleaning metal parts.
An expert with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Tuesday said TCE is known to cause liver and kidney cancer and can pose a threat to women who are or may become pregnant, as it can cause serious issues in unborn children.
Officials told residents to grab whatever they could bring and set them up in two hotels near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
“They didn’t have a timeframe. All of this is until further notice,” said Christa Bishop, who moved with her three children from a three-bedroom apartment to a two-bed single hotel room miles away from their home and the kids’ schools.
“Getting everybody to their destination was every bit of 20 minutes before, now it’s closer to an hour,” Bishop said.
In another hotel, Bridgett Wileer is also staying in a room with her two kids, one of whom needs to take a Milwaukee County Transit Bus to school.
“It was about 10 or 15 minutes before, now it’s an hour bus ride for a 13-year-old,” Wileer said. “Why were we put in a place that had that chemical issue going on and expect us to live in that?”
Families now living in hotel rooms told WISN 12 News on Wednesday they’re getting help from city services, like gift cards to help pay for the essentials, though with no kitchens to cook in, families quickly running out of money because of how much they’re eating out.
“I’m literally on my way to the store to spend the last $24,” said Breana Weakley, who’s sharing gift cards with her sister and four nieces and nephews. “I have $400 worth of groceries in my home I can’t get to.”
When asked what the toughest part of this situation has been, Bishop also agreed it was the food.
“We are not fast food eaters. I cook. They are used to home-cooked meals. Fast food is very tiring,” Bishop said. “We do not have an appetite for fast food.”
On Wednesday, Mayor Cavalier Johnson told WISN 12 News the city did not know about the vapor and chemical issues when the city’s Department of Neighborhood Services issued occupancy permits this summer.
“The city was not even aware of those issues when the permit was issued for Community Within the Corridor,” Johnson said. “My belief is that someone with the ownership works it out with DNR, and that’s where the jurisdiction lies.”
During a news conference on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said they sent multiple emails to developers of Community Within the Corridor apartments near 32nd and Center, recommending they get the level TCE under control before letting people move in.
“The DNR had strongly recommended in writing a number of times that the developers wait to have the building occupied until they could confirm the vapor mitigation system was operating correctly,” said Christine Sieger, with the Division of Environmental Management at the DNR.
Sieger said TCE has been in the soil on the property for years. Before being developed into an apartment building, it was an industrial site for decades.
Documents obtained by WISN 12 News show the developers, Roers Companies, LLC and Scott Crawford, Inc., did install some mitigation measures, though recent testing showed TCE levels were far above anything considered safe.
WISN 12 News asked for an on-camera interview with the developers multiple times and were denied. They did release a statement in part saying, “We are working with a third-party environmental engineering and remediation team that is addressing the underlying issues.”
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