Inspected: Some shut out of building where mushrooms are growing from walls

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- City of Milwaukee officials are at odds over the safety of residents who live in an apartment building near 27th and Juneau.

On Tuesday, May 6th, the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) went to the building with a structural engineer. What that expert learned could result in some units being shut down.

On Monday, FOX6 News showed the collapsed ceiling in one unit. There were also leaking water pipes and mushrooms growing throughout the hallway.

In fact, FOX6 News has learned one person was injured and had to be taken to the hospital after a ceiling collapsed.

"If it's as bad as people are saying, this building should be condemned," said Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman. "Nobody should be living there and it should be town down fully because it's beyond redemption."

Bauman said he's talking to the DNS about it. A structural engineer told FOX6 News what he found during an inspection on Tuesday.

"The floor is dipping in one unit up on the third floor and the unit below on the second floor. And the unit below on the first floor, there's a dip in the floor there. We're pretty certain there's a footing in the middle of the building that's settled eight to twelve inches," said the engineer.

Work crews were cleaning the building Tuesday. The engineer says he's working on a plan to fix the structure. Three units will be shut down. Other tenants are sticking around.

As for the mold, the DNS considers that a secondary issue to the structural problems.

"The foundation is broken and collapsed, so with that sinking, the walls have come down. Of course, it can't support the walls. It can't support the ceiling. It's a building in a lot of distress. It's gonna take some work -- so the owner is going to have to review that and come up with a plan and from there, we'll decide if it's acceptable or not," Todd Weiler with the Department of Neighborhood Services said.

The owner of the building is listed as the owner of another property on W. National Ave. where a balcony collapsed in September 2013. Two people were hurt in that collapse -- and that building was condemned.

That owner is Elijah Rashaed -- a man who goes by a few aliases, and owns many properties in the city under different company names.

He has a lengthy history of violations.

No one answered the door at Rashaed's listed address on Tuesday, May 6th.

"DNS is basically afraid of this landlord. They do not want to confront him. They do not want to hold him accountable to the law that all other landlords are held accountable to," Bauman said.

"We're not allowed to judge landlords. That's what the courts are for -- so I would always say look at the record and the record should speak for itself. Trying to label one landlord as good or bad becomes a slippery slope," Weiler with the DNS said.

As for the building at 27th and Juneau, city inspectors have not given a final word.

FOX6 News has learned the DNS also found problems with fire doors inside the Juneau building, and found no smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors.

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