By Sam Cholke on February 18, 2015 8:01am
SOUTH SHORE — An illegal halfway house in South Shore is riling up neighbors after pipes broke and raw sewage was pumped into the alley.
Neighbors living near 3066 E. 79th St. initially were excited to see the nine-unit apartment building get a full gut rehab over the summer, but have lost their enthusiasm now that the work, all done without permits, is failing and raw sewage is being pumped out of the basement and forming an icy pool next to a neighbor’s garage.
People on the block described the tenants who moved in at the end of the summer as often friendly, but prone to getting into arguments and bouts of heavy drinking.
David Lottich, who lives down the block, said he started to get suspicious of the building when a man in his mid-30s from one of the apartments stopped him on the street to ask for ginger.
“I’m thinking this guy wants to make a fancy meal with shaved ginger or something,” Lottich said. “He says, ‘I’m making julep up in my room.’”
Lottich said the man went on to describe making hooch in his room.
City inspectors from the Department of Buildings caught wind of the building on Jan. 22 and found 36 men living under 24-hour supervision in seven of the nine apartments.
Inspectors’ reports said the basement was a stagnant pool of raw sewage and water from leaky pipes.
The inspectors’ reports said the men living in the building paid a fee for a room and three meals a day and had to go to outpatient treatment three times a week for mental illness and substance abuse.
According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, there is no license on file for a halfway house or recovery home at that address.
After the city inspection, the owner was ticketed for the sewage in the basement and for running a halfway house without getting the proper zoning clearance.
Geralyn Bozza, a Realtor in Amityville, N.Y., who owns the property said she was unaware of issues with the building.
“I have an attorney on this, and I’ve been assured everything is legal,” Bozza said. “It’s not a halfway house. They rent.”
She abruptly hung up when asked about the city inspections and questioned about building permits.
Though neighbors described seeing workers gut the building over the summer and haul in new pipes, electrical wires, pallets of drywall and other materials, the city has no record of permits for any of the work.
Inspectors went back on Friday to further document the building’s conditions to prepare for a court filing, according to Mimi Simon, a spokeswoman for the Buildings Department.
The inspector’s report from Friday was not immediately available.
Ald. Natashia Holmes‘ 7th Ward office said in light of all of the problems with the property, the alderman will not support any efforts by the building owner to operate a legitimate halfway house now.
Nicole Miller, the alderman’s chief of staff, said Holmes was working with the Buildings Department to get inspectors back into the building and the Zoning Board of Appeals to halt any attempt to get the special-use permit required to run a halfway house.
