Albuquerque's Skylight Towers puts residents' lives at risk

February 23, 2011

On Tuesday, city inspectors met at the northeast Albuquerque apartment complex, Skylight Towers, and presented the building's manager with a list detailing 18 major code violations. KOB Eyewitness News 4's Jeff Maher first brought the story to the city's attention last week. The list of repairs will be costly to rectify. Some of the violations include exposed electrical wiring, power meters without disconnection points, and the risk of gas meters breaking off. Other violations included improper venting on the roof, inoperable fire alarms, and water damage to the balconies. Fire extinguishers were found to have expired in 2007. The building's manager, Helen Waters, told KOB last week that she has already ordered new ones. City inspectors also found an infestation of cockroaches and bees in two of the 12 vacant apartments they red-tagged. Vehicles sitting in the parking lot for months will have to be towed, trash and debris will have to be picked up.