Once-hopeful Cashew Gardens residents greeted by damaged homes, flooding

CASHEW Gardens 2 or (Central), Carlsen Field, Couva has been highlighted recently because of complaints residents have been making over 15 years about sinking and cracked houses caused by an incomplete drain on Edinburgh Road.

While that issue remains unresolved and residents continue to ask for help from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Cashew Gardens North, a newer development, is facing similar and different challenges.

Residents and president of the Cashew Gardens Home Owners Association Christopher McCollins say the situation has passed the crisis stage.

Speaking to Newsday on July 19, McCollins said, "There are no street lights in many areas. The base for the lights is there, but because the contractor has not received payment, no lights were installed.

"When people come to see what they got after completing their financials with TTMF (Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company), they are welcomed to a building overgrown with grass, rotten roofs, unconnected water lines and sewage pipes that are broken off.

"Residents were told that it is their responsibility to cut the grass in front of it before moving in.

"There is also an NGC (National Gas Company) line going down the full length of the community. There are units still to be built close to it.

"But the major concern is an incomplete drain that has been causing havoc. Because of that drain, it is continuously flooding.

"Last time HDC rented three pumps to clear the drainage. They said because of the cost they can't keep it on site."

McCollins said approximately six or seven townhouses and four single units in Zone 5 of Cashew Gardens North face floodwaters in their home every time it rains heavily. In total, approximately 30 families are stranded when floodwater rises.

McCollins said, "As soon as residents realise that it is raining continuously, they warn others who are not at home of the impending danger."

Although the roads need repair, residents are choosing their battles and focusing on the immediate needs.

"Before we continue about the flooding, what really caught our attention this time was the blatant disregard for homeowners. People are receiving homes with rotten roofs and ceilings.

"What they (HDC) did was painted over the rot. But in a couple of units, the hole was so big that they could not paint over them. That is disconcerting and they are doing it continuously.

"We have had conversations with Mr Noel Garcia (HDC chairman) among many others. Even those issues highlighted in the Newsday from Cashew Gardens Central (2) were already brought to the attention of HDC."

On abandoned homes, he said, "The homes are not abandoned, they are allocated, but they are not doing upkeep and maintenance.

"There are a lot of people doing work to move in and then others are afraid to move in because there are no streetlights.

"We may be low-income but we are not low-class.

"They cannot say that this is a situation caused by covid. The first flooding was in 2019, before anyone moved in. We had conversations about it, and they still moved people into those units. Even Balloon Man, who received a unit, was given one that is flood-prone."

Marcus Gibbs, 29, better known as the "Balloon Man," was given a townhouse in Cashew Gardens North in July 2020. Gibbs' story of impoverishment and struggle was first told by Newsday in April 2020.

"He too has to put sandbags in front of his door when the water rises. We told them before Balloon Man got the apartment that the one allocated to him was flood-prone and had already been flooded out. They still decided to send him to live in it," said McCollins.

A single unit costs $450,000 and a townhouse $545,000.

McCollins said the roofs of the houses are under warranty for five years.

"By the time the owners move in, the warranty for the roof would have already expired, because the units were there just sitting for years."

On Mayanut Circle the issue of flooding is critical and supersedes everything else. Just like Cashew Gardens 2, an incomplete drain and payment to the contractor were the causing factor.

Wayne Corbie is married with three children aged two, five and eight.  His townhouse at Mayanut Circle has been ravaged by flooding on three occasions.

He said, "Before the family moved in, I noticed the concrete in front of the building dropping. I spoke to HDC about it and they said it was a minor issue. We moved in here in February 2020 and all three floods occurred between March and July 2 of this year.

"We lost our living-room set, kitchen cupboard, deep freeze, standing freezer, Xbox, couch set and foodstuff. We lost one or two books for the children and some were damaged.

"The building seems to be undermined because of the flooding and a burst WASA line. The plumbing is cast into the concrete underground and I had to burst the concrete on the floor outside the front door to get to the pipe. I noticed it was hollow underneath. It was completely undermined."

He said his home's foundation had separated from the rest of the building.

"Every time it floods, it gets more difficult to get the water out of the house because the house is leaning. The water collects to the extreme right of the house. And don't forget that the water would still be going under the building."

Corbie became emotional as he relived his visit to HDC's head office in Port of Spain after the first flooding incident. He had taken his family with him.

"I had my documents and photos of the incident. Somebody came and took the documents and came back. They said, 'We (HDC) won't be able to process anything now because we are changing management.'"

He said he was then given a runaround and ended up leaving without any help.

"They ran me like a dog.

"I just need compensation. I don't really need to be relocated. They don't understand that it's raw sewage coming into your home. I can´t live like this. My babies can't endure that."

He said, when it floods, HDC provides disposable sandbags that themselves leak.

"I feel hopeless now."

Corbie said he was no stranger to a difficult life.

"My parents kicked me out since I was 14 and I was living on my own since. I bought that house to make sure my children don't go through that.

"I work hard for that house and it real hard! The centre of the townhouse is sinking. I'm literally bankrupt because I had to replace all my things. It's unfair!"

He repeated that all he wanted was compensation for what he had lost in the floods.

In an effort to reduce the damage done when it floods, a mother of two constructed a three-step concrete barricade at her front door. The top of the door is now just a few inches from the roof of the house.

She said, "After the last flooding, we killed five snakes. Don't talk about the centipedes. When it floods they crawl up the wall of the house in a swarm. Add to that all the faeces, residential garbage, dead rodents and agricultural poisons that are mixed up in the floodwater.

"We don't know what to do again. The steps helped but it won't be enough."

Contacted by Newsday, HDC responded through its newly appointed corporate communications specialist, Dane Lewis.

Asked about the lack of street lights in many areas of the development, Lewis said, "The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) was engaged to facilitate this activity. Streetlights would be installed in the upcoming weeks."

On homes being overgrown with bush when presented to residents, he said that situation was unique to Cashew Gardens and not the case for all HDC developments.

"In the future, the corporation will ensure that all units are properly landscaped before (they are) handed over to customers."

Asked about the flooding, Lewis said the HDC was aware of the situation at Carlsen Field 3C and had taken measures to mitigate against it, including installing two temporary water pumps to reduce water levels and clearing  existing drains, along with starting construction on new box drains to facilitate better water runoff.

Lewis also said defects encountered by new homeowners would be addressed on investigation by the HDC and its contractors. He said HDC management was planning a visit to Cashew Gardens to view the issues highlighted.

Lewis did not comment on residents' claims of receiving homes already damaged by flooding or with damaged roofs.

Since Lewis's response on July 29, on Emancipation Day there was a site visit to Cashew Gardens by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Pennelope Beckles, HDC chairman Noel Garcia, managing director Jayselle McFarlane, senior manager, Allocations and Settlements, Jeremy Campbell and estate manager Karen Aguilera.

Commenting on the site visit last Saturday, McCollins said the HDC representatives viewed the concerns from both Cashew Gardens North and Central, including the problematic section of the Edinburg Road.

"They came, I introduced myself and observed from a distance. Since then they have brought seven streetlight poles."

McCollins said he was worried that the contractor seemed to have left the area, including where the houses were just "shells."

He said, since Newsday had last contacted the HDC, water pumps were again installed but were removed a few days later.

"We don't have any pumps any more, and with the weather forecast predicting heavy rainfall tomorrow (Sunday 15) we are hoping and praying that we don't get hit too hard."