SAN DIEGO — Residents of Sea Breeze Gardens Apartments say they’re dealing with a stinky, nasty problem and it’s literally making them sick.
Several residents say raw sewage is coming up out of pipes outside of their front door and inside of their homes through pipes in their bathrooms leaving raw sewage in their bathtubs.
Murrel Vailes lives in Sea Breeze Gardens Apartments on Logan Avenue in Lincoln Park. He says raw sewage, including toilet paper is coming out of the pipes outside of his front door and inside of his home.
"It's bad. It's not right. You go to work. You come home. You want to take a nice shower and you got feces all in the tub and you got to clean it. Who wants to live like this?" Vailes asked understandably frustrated.
"But they want their rent though. We were here a whole week and it was like that (with sewage coming out of the pipes.) My dog been sick and I have stomach problems. I can't eat like I used to. It's bad," Vailes added.
CBS 8 is Working for You on this story and went to the leasing office of Sea Breeze Gardens. We were told, via taps on a window screen pointing our attention to the hanging clock on said window screen, that they were on break until 2 p.m.
CBS 8’s Keristen Holmes called the leasing office after 2 p.m. but was told someone would call us back. They couldn't say when we would get that call back, leaving these neighbors with a nasty problem and a bad taste in their mouth.
Vailes says he’s hurt by the lack of consideration from apartment management.
"It shouldn't be like this. I'm tired man. I don't deserve this. Nobody in here deserves... they don't deserve that," Murrel said as tears slowly fell from his eyes.
Vailes also says, as if the raw sewage isn’t enough of a problem, he and his neighbors have to suffer through violence right outside of their homes.
Vailes said bullet holes riddle their home that management attempted to patch up. He was inside when the gun spray started.
"We were in the house, and they were shooting. It's kind of rough over here but I've been dealing with it though, because I had a roof over my head. It's been going on since I been here. I moved in in 2012. I asked to be moved, and they said, 'We don't have any vacancies.' It's always something," Vailes explained.
Vailes admits the apartment complex is being renovated, but he says construction started with the leasing office first.
He appreciates the new, much needed paint job on the walls but says there are serious issues he’s afraid management isn’t addressing.
"This (the sewage) is what they should be concerned with - this right here - and they’re not,” Vailes concluded sadly.
CBS 8 has been Working for You, trying to get answers from the management of Sea Breeze Gardens and even tried politely knocking on the door.
We’ve called and emailed. But so far, no one is getting back to us, leaving our questions unanswered and this community suffering with sewage issues.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.