More horror stories are coming to light about what it was like inside 91 Brazil Street, an apartment building shut down by the city last week.
Jason van Vianen was the property’s live-in superintendent and is among those displaced by the city’s order to vacate.
He says when he initially took over the building it was in relatively good shape, but a steady series of problems under three separate property management companies were not adequately addressed and conditions continued to deteriorate.
Some of the damage done to the building (Submitted Photo)
And then there were drugs and crime.
“I was the only security, I was the one running around throwing people out, telling people to stop smoking crack in my hallways, get out of the building, don’t be making messes with the garbage. Like, I went through a lot in seven years. I had to resuscitate five people in the last two and a half months.”
He says officials were aware of the problems in the building, but says police can only do so much.
Alleged drug use caught on video surveillance (Submitted Photo)
“I did my due diligence, I was doing my job. I was calling them, I was reporting things, I was calling the police when it was necessary. The police would come, they’d deal with the problem, two minutes later that same person that they either removed or arrested is coming right back into the building. And there’s no way to stop them because they destroyed all the doors.”
He says many residents were too afraid to talk to police because they feared what he calls “repercussions from other sources.”
Van Vianen says it was impossible for him to stop what was happening. He claims there were 35 rent paying tenants in the building, in addition to squatters.
More damage to the complex at 91 Brazil Street (Submitted Photo)
People would be legitimately placed in the building through outreach groups, according to van Vianen, but within a short period of time they were allowing drug dealers in to live there in order to get a free fix. “I’m not a security guard, I am not a policeman, I am not a counsellor, I am not a prison guard. I’m just one guy and all I want to do is mop floors and make sure the place is clean and safe for everybody.”
