Complex given 48 hours to fix problems

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - City officials said they'll condemn the Western Palisades Apartment Complex if the building isn't up to code in the next two days.

That move would force the building's 70 tenants to find new homes.

Some residents, like Joshua Fulton, are already moving out.

"We got all these promises, and we would ask him all the time and he would never respond to anything," Fulton said.

"All the bad stuff that's been going on. I mean, for one the carbon monoxide leak, I mean it's not safe to live here. We thought we would be ok, this is our home and stuff but I don't know."

Broken heaters are among the litany of ongoing problems at the complex.

Nearly a dozen people were sent to the hospital earlier in the week after they used their ovens as makeshift heaters.

All of them have been released from the hospital.

"What we would like to see is working heaters in these units, plumbing issues addressed, the locks addressed, the electrical issues that have been noticed by our mechanical inspectors as well," Public Safety Communications Director T.J. Wilham said.

The city posted red signs on every unit on Saturday. Six have already been deemed unlivable. The rest will attain that status on Monday afternoon if the problems aren't fixed.

Worried residents shared their concerns with city officials Saturday afternoon. The city responded by telling them they will help them find new housing if needed.

The Safe City Strike Force has contacted the landlord. He tells them he's working on fixing the problems.

He's been cited with 13 misdemeanors so far. City officials said he likely faces hundreds more as they continue to investigate the building's conditions.