Archstone mold might have triggered boy's ills

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Archstone mold might have triggered boy's ills

Newsday - Long Island,NY*

BY LAURA RIVERA AND MATTHEW CHAYES

laura.rivera@newsday

December 4, 2007

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-

liarch045487115dec04,0,5507366.story

About five months before her first child was born, Tiara McCray and

her husband left Manhattan to settle in the Archstone apartments in

Westbury, hoping to give their infant son a safer, more stable life

in the suburbs.

After moving into a two-bedroom, $2,000-a-month apartment, McCray,

26, painted the nursery a lively blue, stenciled her son Isaiah's

name on the wall and placed a rocker in a corner.

" Everything was just set, " said McCray, 26. " I was so excited about

it. "

Their suburban dream was marred within months by water damage so

extensive that parent company Archstone- of Colorado has told

tenants of the 400-unit complex that they must move out by March 31.

What is worse, McCray said, is that mold and mildew that overtook

their apartment may have made Isaiah sick.

The 3 1/2-month-old was hospitalized twice last month, first when he

suffered a seizure, then for breathing problems, a persistent cough

and a rash all over his body, conditions McCray said the baby's

pediatrician traces to environmental causes.

" You don't think to inspect everything with a fine-toothed comb,

especially because you see the community and it looks so gorgeous, "

McCray said.

McCray had lived in Archstone properties since 2003, when she rented

a studio apartment in Washington D.C., while attending law school at

University.

A spokesman for Archstone-, which is giving tenants their last

month's rent free and between $1,300 to $1,900, said the company

does not know how many residents have left their apartments and

could not estimate how much closing the complex would cost.

" The cost is not our primary concern, " spokesman Pendery said

in an e-mail from the company's headquarters in Englewood, Colo.

" Our primary concern is vacating the community so that the

reconstruction project can be done quickly, safely and effectively, "

Pendery said.

The company set up a Web site, archstonewestburyproject. com, with

information on moving companies and brokers to assist tenants

looking for new homes.

Last week, Town of Hempstead building inspectors determined that the

Westbury complex is safe for occupancy until residents leave.

The town has asked Archstone for documents from the company's self-

inspection of the complex's construction.

" The situation that existed earlier last week still is the current

situation, " Deery said [CORRECTION: Mike Deery is a spokesman for

the Town of Hempstead. His first name and title were omitted in a

story yesterday about the Archstone Westbury apartment complex. PG.

A15 ALL 12/5/07]. " We're having conversations on a daily basis and

we've asked for progress reports and we expect to receive them

shortly. "

Town of Hempstead officials defended its building department, saying

their inspections ensure compliance with state safety and structural

codes and could not have detected problems that led to the water

damage. Town officials said there is no indication of wrongdoing and

no allegation that the buildings did not meet code.

The McCrays moved yesterday into a rental apartment in Glen Cove.

As movers rolled in a bureau, television and mattress, Isaiah, his

hands covered with socks to keep him from scratching at his rash,

awakened from a nap.

Musing about what she might do with his new nursery, McCray

said: " Well, we do have some paint left. "

Staff writer Carl MacGowan contributed to this story.