BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Nestled in Northwest Bakersfield, Harmony Court Senior Apartment Homes offers pet-friendly living with beautiful scenery—at least that’s what's written on their website.
23ABC Neighborhood Reporter Avery Elowitt spoke with several residents, who agreed to an interview but chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.
“They are coming all hours of the night, all hours of the day. They damage some people’s property. Last week, I had something stolen off of my porch.”
“We tell them, ‘Hey, you’re trespassing, you’re on private property. You’re on camera.’ And we get told that, ‘blank off’ and you know, ‘kiss -’”
“Somebody broke the window one time… another time they used a crowbar to get in.”
“Nobody feels safe in here.”
“There’s no harmony here at Harmony Court.”
However, what the website doesn’t show is an ongoing problem with trespassers, many of whom hop over the property’s wall and allegedly cause property damage.
“The other day I had someone throw something— it looked like milk… all over the hood and some on the window. So I had to clean it up when I got to work,” said one of the residents.
Tenants say that they fear for their safety.
During an interview with a resident, two people were working together to hop over the wall onto the property.
“I don’t sleep at night because of this,” said a resident. “At 3:00 last night, they were walking by, groups of them, five and six people, walking past the house.”
Tenants say they have contacted management about these issues, but feel their concerns go unaddressed.
“When I told the manager about it, she said, ‘Whoops, sorry that happened to you.’ Just like with the broken windows of the cars. ‘Oops, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that’s happening,’ but nobody does anything about it,” said a resident.
Another resident, who has lived in the complex for less than a year, said, “I was given three options by corporate, and that was to call the sheriff, who does nothing. Call security, who does nothing—half the time, he doesn't even stop the people in the parking lot; But my other option is if I don’t like it here, to give my 30 days. Well, I just moved here. I’m not gonna give my 30 days.”
Feeling out of options, tenants are desperate for a call to action.
“They need to build the wall higher. And that way it’ll get done,” said a resident. “And they need to have this 24/7 like a setup in the clubhouse with maybe cameras in there, a person in there all night, and somebody monitoring them.”
Some tenants are at the end of their rope.
“I’m hoping to be out of here by the end of the year because enough is enough,” one resident said.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said this in a statement:
“[On Tuesday], I had a lieutenant go out to Harmony Court to speak with the manager after checking into prior calls and deputy response and she confirmed that some residents on the east side of the complex have reported people hopping the fence and loitering on the property. While he did not observe anyone in the area when he walked the property, he encouraged residents to contact us if they see individuals who do not live there loitering.
From what I understand, most of the calls KCSO has received from that location have been related to vehicle burglaries. In those instances, residents were advised to file a report online, which is part of our standard process, depending on the circumstances and prioritization of calls. For residents who may not be able to navigate the online system, we have Community Service Technicians available who can respond in person to take the report…”
23ABC also reached out to Harmony Court for a response. Over the phone, they said that they can’t control the area and cannot comment at this time.
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