Urgent work continues at two rundown apartment buildings in Cote des Neiges, but several tenants say the conditions remain decrepit.
Officials from the Cote des Neiges - Notre Dame de Grace borough stepped in earlier this month to do a series of repairs at 4837 and 4855 Vezina St. after tenants complained of major problems, including mice and roach infestations, lack of heat, and mould.
Mohamed Anowar Khondker is collecting bags of cockroaches and bedbugs in his apartment, evidence for his upcoming case at the rental board where he hopes to force the landlord to clean up and do repairs. He's also had to shell out cash on portable electric units, because he says his apartment's heating system doesn't work.
"This time I hope he's going to give us justice," said Khondker.
So far, workers have removed harmful asbestos and fumigated two dozen apartments, while the borough has begun repairing the heating system, all at the owner's expense.
Exterminators were at the building Thursday, ridding common areas of bugs and vermin. Still, said Khondker, progress is slow.
"All I see, (is that) they're just wasting time. They're not willing to fix anything," he said.
Authorities evacuated two apartment and plan to move at least two others in the coming days.
"Well let's be honest, we're talking about an extreme situation, so we took extreme measures. It's not perfect." said Michel Therrien, assistant borough director for Cote des Neiges - Notre Dame de Grace. "We know it's improving though. I mean, within a week we did more jobs than was done in last six months, so we're kind of happy with that,"
One tenant said she's still not happy, because she continues to find rats and cockroaches in her apartment after exterminators visited.
"My apartment? Well you know what my problem is in there? The rats and the cockroaches," she said. "Yes, I've been bitten by cockroaches."
