YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Three tenants of Youngstown’s Park Vista Independent Living apartment building have filed a lawsuit to get the building properly maintained. This second suit in the past year and a half addresses the overall maintenance of the building.
Barbara Brothers was one of three women who put their names on a lawsuit filed in Mahoning County, claiming the building towering 11 stories over Fifth Avenue is a “public nuisance.”
The lawsuit claims that Park Vista properties of Chagrin Falls failed to correct six of the seven code violations issued in August by Youngstown’s property code enforcement division, many of which came from a March wind storm that damaged the roof.
“Those are major repairs: Drywall that has to be replaced, ceiling tiles in the ceiling, and the walls,” Brothers said.
The lawsuit also cites electrical lines that can be seen dangling from the roof, along with complaints of musty odors. Brothers says they were also promised a bus service, which has yet to be seen.
“Specifically mentioning Stambaugh, and the symphony, and things at the university,” Brothers said.
The Park Vista Residents Association filed a lawsuit last year to get the garage fixed. Earlier this year, tenants brought their complaints to Youngstown City Council to get the roof repaired.
Brothers says she paid $45,000 up-front to live there and now pays $1,700 per month in rent, though since October she’s put the rent in escrow.
Brothers wants what she paid for and what she was promised.
“This was a premier place to live,” Brothers said. “Some of us thought when we came here, this was it. Our families wouldn’t have to take care of us.”
First News has repeatedly reached out to those involved with the management of Park Vista about issues with the garage and the roof, but no comment has been returned.