DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX – For the past five weeks, 71-year-old Astrid Nazarian has been sleeping on a mattress on her living room floor.
“That is affecting my health and it’s really uncomfortable,” said Nazarian.
On the evening of February 15th, Nazarian heard a strange sound coming from her bedroom. When she investigated, she found water rushing down from the vacant unit upstairs.
“I saw water coming down from all over the curtains, soaking wet, and it was so fast that I could see bubbles forming,” she said.
Nazarian called the fire department, who told her a faulty pipe in the condo above was to blame.
“They went upstairs, they broke the door, and they closed the whole system,” she said.
That solved one problem, but began a whole new one — this one involving her condo association.
“It took [the association’s president] an hour and a half to get here,” said Nazarian. “He lives around the corner, and an hour and a half to get here. And in the meantime I called him four times.”
When he finally arrived, Nazarian said he refused to enter the bedroom, and later told her it was her fault.
“How am I responsible?” said Nazarian. “You know, it happened upstairs! And all of the sudden bang the ceiling fell on me!”
Over a month later, the only help she has received is a fan to help with the poor air circulation in her bedroom. Her home reeks of mould and, still, no one is stepping in.
“I can’t stay here anymore,” Nazarian said. “I can’t stay here. I’m in limbo here… And nobody is doing anything for me.”
Global News tried contacting the condo association for comment, but to no avail. Astrid Nazarian and her son, Raffi, stress that time is of the essence. Conditions inside the condo are only going to get worse, and that could take a toll on their already fragile health.
“I have to protect myself,” said Nazarian. “Look what happened to my voice! And I’m coughing and coughing all the time.”
Nazarian already suffers from lupus, a heart condition and a respiratory problem. Her son, who lives with her, is diabetic. Their insurance company has agreed to buy them new mattresses and pay for alternative accommodation while work is being done on the bedroom. The only problem is that work isn’t being done.
“I’m really angry at them!,” said Nazarian of the condo association. “They’re supposed to take care of us. This is a condo and we elected them to do this for us.”
She said if the Sunnybrook Village condo association doesn’t act fast, she will have no choice but to take matters into her own hands.
“I’m gonna stop paying them my condo fees,” said Nazarian. “And that’s that. For now.”