Couple Charged Over Conditions at Apartments

A Granada Hills couple were charged Thursday with violating more than 30 health, building and safety code regulations at a 117-unit apartment complex they own, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said.

Salomon Wainberg, 68, and his wife, Olga, 61, were charged after inspectors investigated Vanowen Gardens at 13100 Vanowen St.

City Atty. James K. Hahn said the Wainbergs, who have owned Vanowen Gardens in North Hollywood since 1992, will be arraigned Sept 5. in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Investigators from the Slum Housing Task Force who conducted a series of inspections at the apartments between May and July said they found many infractions, including broken heaters, damaged ceilings, exposed wiring and mountains of trash in and around the buildings.

Residents of the complex said they have long complained to the resident managers about the problems.

Efrain Alvarado and his wife, Gloria, said they have tried to battle a roach problem with spray cans of insecticide. Alvarado pointed to a leak in his ceiling that he said he fixed himself. Alvarado said he has begrudgingly accepted the leaky faucets and bad plumbing because he doesn’t expect the maintenance man at the apartment to fix anything.

“There are big fat cockroaches everywhere, it’s like there are millions of them,” 13-year-old Rosa Cyphers said about her apartment. “Me and my mom have stayed up all night cleaning the house because there are so many.”

Rosa’s mother, Sandra Cyphers, said the family has to turn the water valve under the sink off because the faucet has leaked for months. Plus she said, “The cold water doesn’t work.”

Just across the walkway, Sandra’s sister, Debra Ribot, pointed to a heater that had an exposed flame. Ribot said the heater had been broken for the entire six months she has lived in the apartment.

“I guess they think we should accept it just the way it is,” she said angrily. “They probably think that since most of the people here are immigrants that they won’t say anything about it. And a lot of the immigrants don’t have green cards, so they might be afraid to complain about it.”

In an interview in the rental office of the complex, the building’s on-site manager, Zeev Levali, acknowledged that inspectors demanded that the complex make some changes to deal with the violations. Since the citations were issued, paint has been applied to some apartments and once-tattered carpets are being replaced in some units, Levali said.

But he blamed the trash and bug problems at least partially on tenants. “Not everybody here knows how to keep their apartments clean,” he said.