Neighbors locked out after Petersburg deems building unsafe: 'I'm stressed out'

PETERSBURG, Va. — Residents of a Petersburg apartment building say they were blindsided when the City of Petersburg declared the structure unsafe, leaving them technically barred from their own homes.

Darnell Taylor says he got ready and headed out the door for work Wednesday, only to find out he was no longer allowed back inside his home at 25 Bank Street.

"I can't work because I'm stressed out right now," Taylor said.

WTVR

The stress stems from several red notices placed on the facade of the brick building, along with a memo of code violations from the City of Petersburg explaining why the building is unsafe.

"All I see is this, it's not safe to be in here," Taylor said. "We don't deserve this bull crap man. I pay my rent on time. I've been here for three and a half years and I really don't complain."

Tamala Agee says she's in a similar position after witnessing city officials working on the building.

"I got scared. I go freaked out, you know," Agee said. "I was going to work and there was all these people out here. I was like, 'What's going on?' And they told me we might have to shut the building down so you might have to get all your personal items because you ight not have time to later."

WTVR

I reached out to the City of Petersburg to help these residents get answers. According to a city spokesperson, the city had been trying to reach the property owner of 25 Bank Street for several weeks to obtain an engineering report on the condition of the building after noticing cracks starting to form in the facade.

The spokesperson added that it was only after being unable to contact the property owner and seeing more cracks form that the city placed the red tags on the building, giving the property owner until the close of business Wednesday to provide an engineering report to determine if the building is structurally sound.

If not, the city says the property owner has 30 days to resolve the code violations and is responsible for finding accommodations for the residents until those repairs are complete and the building is deemed safe again.

WTVR

Until that time, the city says the property owner is responsible for informing residents that they are technically not allowed in the building.

But when I spoke to Taylor and Agee Wednesday afternoon, they said they still had no guidance from the property owner.

"Once they shut the building down there is no more going back in, so I decided to stay so I can be aware of what's happening," Agee said.

Agee says it's enough to give her headaches.

"It's very stressful it's enough to get tears in your eyes," Agee said.

"This building didn't just start cracking yesterday. This has been here for a while," Taylor said.

Now, residents say they have nothing left to do but wait.

"I just hope that this works out for the best," Agee said.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.