Piles of syringes, prostitution in the stairwell and drug paraphernalia scattered around a Kingston, Ont. apartment building have all allegedly been witnessed by several tenants.
For many tenants of 381 Bagot Street, this downtown Kingston apartment building has been home for decades after it was initially designated for seniors. Recently, however, Kingston Frontenac Housing Corporation changed the specifications for residency and allowed for non-seniors to move in, according to Claudette LaPensee, a 14-year tenant of the building.
“We used to have get-togethers in common areas, and now in those areas downstairs, people are down there smoking crack,” said LaPensee.
LaPensee and Lydia Ackley, a tenant of the building for seven years, showed Global News several areas of the building that were littered with drug paraphernalia. Both tenants described taking the stairs and witnessing prostitution, too.
CEO for Kingston Frontenac Housing Corporation, Mary Lynn Cousins Brame, told Global News via phone call that the issues inside the building began when the Street Heath Centre’s safe injection site opened near the property in 2018.
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Cousins Brame continued to say that people have found their way into the building, whether it be breaking in or sneaking in, and building management has attempted to fix the locking system numerous times.
Recently, mailboxes inside 381 Bagot have been destroyed, and the contents (cheques and parcels) have been stolen, according to several residents. Cousins Brame says this has resulted in Canada Post refusing to drop mail off at the building, which consequently required all 104 units to pick up their mail at the nearest postal outlet.
“The new mailboxes will not be installed for another five weeks but we gave each tenant two weeks’ notice,” said Cousins Brame.
Ackley says the recent problems inside the building are causing her to lose sleep because she feels she will be a target of a break and enter.
“People are yelling and screaming in the hallways, so I’m up until 3:00 a.m.,” Ackley said. “I’ve started sleeping with a knife to protect myself.”
According to Kingston police, they receive many calls generated from 381 Bagot, which they say is the case with many similar apartments in the downtown core.
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