Officials: Timeline for residents' return to Edison apartments where ceilings collapsed in doubt after failed inspections
The original stated goal was to have residents back at Evergreen Meadows on White Birch Road in 24 to 48 hours.
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A timeline for residents to return to the Edison apartments that were the site of ceiling collapses became uncertain after failed building inspections on Saturday.
The original stated goal was to have residents back at Evergreen Meadows on White Birch Road in 24 to 48 hours.
Now it appears that timeline will take longer.
An official estimate was not immediately clear because it all depends on how fast the repairs will be made correctly.
Eleven of the 12 buildings at Evergreen Meadows on White Birch Road where 280 units were impacted were deemed unsafe with “imminent hazards” on Friday. This occurred after officials said a ceiling collapsed onto two people who were sleeping early in the morning.
One was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
This was the second such ceiling collapse in less than a week. Last Saturday, a ceiling collapse prompted the town to issue an unsafe structure notice.
The town ordered the management company, Garden Communities Management, to correct the problem.
The issue resurfaced less than a week later and resulted on a resident being sent to the hospital.
Impacted residents were placed in hotel rooms and offered meals.
The management company is covering those expenses.
Edison Division of Fire Chief Andrew Toth said the managers’ architect sent a plan to the town on Saturday. When it came time to inspect the four apartments, however, management thought the answer was still no.
“From what I’m understanding, the screws were not at the right distance where they went through the sheetrock all the way through to the joist. So, it didn’t pass the inspection both on the town’s part or their architecture’s part. The association put the residents up in various hotels last night, and they are going to continue tonight too. Hopefully tomorrow, they can get this right,” Toth explained.
The inspections went room by room through the top floor apartments and the common areas, according to the mayor’s office.
Violations were found in each of the four buildings presented.
Garden Communities said it will continue work Sunday to prepare for follow-up inspections.
News 12's Tom Krosnowski's additional reporting on the ceiling collapses at Evergreen Meadows.
News 12's Senior Investigative Reporter Walt Kane's report on the history of the Evergreen Meadows Apartments.
