Judge temporarily halts evictions for Roosevelt Building residents following fire

Residents of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Roosevelt building can stay in the partially condemned apartment building following a fire and response that caused serious damage, but it is unclear for how long.

Tenants were initially told they would be evicted on Friday, but a verbal order was given by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Connelly on Wednesday to temporarily hold all evictions and disposal of property for Roosevelt residents, a staffer from Connelly’s office confirmed to the Tribune-Review.

This follows a lawsuit filed by eight residents on Wednesday seeking an injunction to half the evictions.

The Roosevelt was damaged after a five-alarm fire hit the 12th floor of the building on Dec. 12, resulting in the death of one woman. Two emergency responders also sustained injuries from the fire.

As the fire was extinguished by Pittsburgh firefighters running the building’s sprinkler system, many parts of the building sustained water damage, and several floors and two elevators sustained significant damage from the water, said Jonathan Kamin, attorney for the Roosevelt Building.

Nine floors of the Roosevelt were condemned following the fire. Many residents were allowed to return to their units on Dec. 20 as the condemnation order was partially lifted, according to a motion filed by the lawyers of several Roosevelt residents.

On Dec. 23, residents were told they had to vacate the building and remove their belongings to allow for repairs to be made.

There are 180 units inside the building, and Pittsburgh Police said there were 106 people in the building at the time of the fire.

Pittsburgh officials said the building has a mix of market-rate tenants and residents on subsidized rents through Section 8 housing vouchers. Section 8 residents were assisted by federal, nonprofit, and county agencies to find replacement housing.

However, some other residents, including market-rate residents, had trouble finding replacement housing.

According to the lawsuit, the eight residents, including people on subsidized and market-rate rents, have not provided adequate replacement housing options beyond a list of HUD-subsidized buildings in the area.

Earlier this month, Kamin said market rate residents were provided with some funds to help pay for temporary housing and had their security deposits returned and ended lease agreements.

The hearing on the Roosevelt building case continued Thursday.