COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An apartment complex with a history of repeated visits by police, plus housing code violations, has been taken to court by the city attorney’s office.
According to a complaint filed in January by Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, Mayfair Apartments, on the East Side, is a location known by the Columbus Division of Police for its high level of violent crime and narcotics.
Since November 2019, CPD has responded 244 times to the complex, with 40 calls for shots fired, two shootings, four stabbings, 22 overdoses, 34 burglaries and five robberies, among other incidents the complaint said.
There have been 298 code violations since 2019: 283 were housing code, six emergency violations, two zoning, and nine health and sanitation. Owners of Mayfair Apartments LP are based in Philadelphia, court documents show.
Examples of violations are garbage, litter, loose trash, missing handrails, standing water in the basement and boarded windows and windows that won’t stay up, the complaint said.
Klein’s office has asked that Mayfair Apartments retain private security or CPD special duty services for the complex, remediate code violations, and submit a written plan with clear deadlines.
When NBC4’s Cynthia Rosi drove to Mayfair Apartment, workers were on site.
Attorney Dimitri Hatzifotinos represents Mayfair Apartments. He said they are “actively renovating units at Mayfair and addressing outstanding code orders.”
Hatzifotinos pointed out that it is an older complex, and the goal is to complete outstanding orders in the next 30-60 days.
“Other units will be renovated as people move out,” Hatzifotinos said.