Tenants seek action for better living conditions at Philips Pointe Apartments

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has been contacted by a local woman who says that she feels unsafe at her apartment complex, which also has other sanitation issues that have not been addressed by the property manager.

Tenants have complained about their safety, but no changes have been made.

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Philips Ponte is a HUD property on Philips Highway, Action News Jax spoke with many people in the Hispanic community living here who say they constantly feel unsafe and want more security.

“My life at the moment is in danger for some time now, I have a picture of the man who has been following me,” Armas said.

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Milagros Armas has been living at the Philips Highway apartment complex for two years after moving to the U.S. from Cuba where she says she was tortured. She says that she feels the same in her current living situation. Some of the issues include a homeless population that seems to be present on the property, as shown by pictures of a grocery cart filled with assorted goods, which is in a hallway where tenants say there is urine running down the walls.

“There was a mattress full of feces left in the elevator for 2 weeks, going up and down the floors,” Armas said.

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On top of the sanitation issues that tenants say are caused by people roaming through the building, they say they feel unsafe because of the random encounters with people that not pay rent to live in the building.

“This woman was sleeping right next to my door and I didn’t even know,” said Pedro J. Morales, tenant.”

ANJ was given a picture of a tenant’s door that looks like it has been broken into and has not been repaired.

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The Hispanic community living at Philips Pointe Apartments says that there is a language barrier and that there is no one working in the property manager’s office who speaks Spanish, so their issues constantly go unheard.

“I wake up every morning with red around my eyes and that has never happened until after I have moved into this apartment,” said Israel Nieves, tenant.

ANJ has reached out to the property manager for comment but has not heard back from them yet.

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