A Sault Ste. Marie Man says he now fears for his life every time he enters or leaves his downtown apartment because of squatters taking over the building. Steve Masters lives in a rental unit inside 138 Gore St., a building that once housed the now-defunct Neighborhood Resource Center. He says people have squatted in two of the apartments and the basement, and a small encampment has been set up under the stairwell behind the building in recent days.
“Literally, they have contaminated the building. There were six of them in the hallway as I was trying to get to the door today,” Masters said, speaking to SooToday Wednesday. “They are setting up camp — tarps are being spread under the stairs.” Masters says that after receiving a police escort in and out of his apartment on Monday and Tuesday of this week, one of the squatters threatened to throw him down a flight of stairs on Wednesday “and kick my ass if I came back.” “I walked out my door the other night and the hallway was soaked in urine and vomit,” Masters said, adding that he also found human feces in the front entrance of the building. There have been two instances in the past month where the building has been without running water due to stripped copper piping. Masters was without running water for four days a few weeks ago before the property owners fixed the problem. He says his water stopped working again last Monday. “I carry five-gallon jugs of water to fill my toilet so I can at least flush it and clean myself,” Masters said, adding that he hasn’t been able to wash dishes or wash up the days the building has been without water. “The only running water I have right now is the water running through the leaky roof, which I really don’t expect them to deal with anytime soon.” Masters says people living in the former camp at the corner of Gore Street and Albert Street East were driven elsewhere after it was demolished by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service July 28 — in conjunction with social services, community workers, paramedics and the city’s public works department — amid growing public health and safety concerns. Masters was contacted by bylaw enforcement yesterday about 138 Gore St., but he would like to see the matter resolved quickly because of concerns for his own safety. “I feel like I’m under siege and watching the tarps go back up when I left for work this morning, it makes me sick to my stomach,” Masters said. “Why, after going through all the trouble of breaking the camp, are they letting it happen again? “There was no follow-up after they demolished the camp. I swear their public safety and health concerns went away when those vehicles left the parking lot,” he continued. “The police have been fantastic but they can only do so much.” RWC Management is the residential management company that began managing 138 Gore Street last September. In an email to SooToday on Wednesday, RWC employee IB Fabian said “the building was invaded by drug addicts and criminals[s]» during the summer, resulting in a plumber and a tenant being assaulted in addition to other staff members.
“We’ve been involved a number of times with the police and they get them out, we board the place and they come right back,” Fabian said. RWC Management says they are “currently working with the police to be present this Friday to clear these junkies out, board the place and get a plumber back in there”. The property management company also says it is now offering Masters unspecified compensation and possible relocation to another property. On Thursday, members of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service were seen talking to people in the makeshift shelter under the stairs behind 138 Gore St. SooToday has reached out to police for details.
Masters told SooToday on Wednesday that he is now at a “tipping point.” “Maybe when more people are aware of the situation, the city will step up and take a more active role and see the situation through rather than just washing their hands and walking away. I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said. Freddie Pozzebon, building manager for the city of Sault Ste. Marie, says the municipality is currently in the process of issuing an order to remediate the violation against the property management company under the city’s property standards bylaw. “At this time, we cannot speak about the matter due to confidentiality,” Pozzebon informed SooToday via email on Thursday. “We are looking into the issue of no water supply and other issues with the building.”