Safety concerns surface for another Fort Myers apartment complex

There are safety concerns for another apartment complex in Fort Myers after a stairwell collapsed at Sunrise Towers.

MORE: Stairs collapse at issue-ridden Fort Myers apartment complex

County and state records show the same man who owns Sunrise Towers runs another property right down the street in Fort Myers, and people say they aren’t happy either.

The owner said he doesn’t own this property, even though records indicate otherwise.

WINK News spoke with people who called to say this same man isn’t fixing their problems also. Tenants of Bay Park Villas say their living conditions are just as bad as Sunrise Towers, but management isn’t doing anything to fix it.

Neil Wiener said he’s lived without A/C for 55 days and counting at his apartment in Bay Park Villas.

“My chest is very heavy and breathing is difficult,” Wiener said.

Wiener is disabled and relies on federal taxpayer funds to help pay for his housing.

But when he goes to Bay Park Management for problems, Weiner said nothing gets resolved.

MORE: More stairwells closed after one collapses at Fort Myers apartment complex

“It’s been growing like a chia pet … everyday it gets worse and worse and they refuse to do anything about it,” Wiener said.

Weiner said he pays $750 per month for his apartment, but has been sleeping in his car.

“I’ve been living in my car,” Wiener said. “Today will be the fifty-first night that I’ve been living in my car, right outside of my apartment where my rent is current.”

Weiner said the mold is growing in every crack and corner of his apartment because there is no air conditioning.

MORE: ‘You need to fix it’: Stairwells in SWFL apartment deemed ‘dangerous’

Other units at the complex also report problems from mold and roaches.

Deepak Khosa, owner of Sunrise Towers also manages Bay Park Villas too, according to state and county records.

Although Khosa declined comment about Bay Park Villas, he did say “he doesn’t see the living conditions at Sunrise Towers as unsafe,” despite the stairwell collapse.

Khosa told WINK News he’s working with a contractor to address the problems.

As for Bay Park Villas tenants, they say they’re feeling the same stresses as the Sunrise Towers renters when it comes to building maintenance.

“They have no intention of taking care of anything,” Wiener said.

WINK News is working to get all of the inspection reports for Sunrise Towers.

MORE: HUD, code enforcement investigating Fort Myers apartment complex