Piles of trash reappear at Westbury Reserve Apartments, new companies working to clean it up

Piles of trash return to Westbury Reserve Apartments

Back in April, FOX 26 News Reporter Leslie DelasBour first brought to you the just horrible conditions over at Westbury Reserve Apartment where trash was just piling up causing a major health hazard. Well, on Monday, she returned after residents say that the trash has not been picked up for weeks.

HOUSTON - The trash pileup is back, and the smell is just as bad at the site, and residents at Westbury Reserve apartment say they are tired. 

"It’s getting from bad to worse. We’ve got flies every time I open my front door," said Robert Guthrie, a resident. "It’s been an exasperation for myself and the other residents. Four and a half years ago, when I moved in here, this was a nice place." 

The other side:

Previous owners responded to news of trash pile-up that has returned

FOX 26 reached out to Robert Ritzenthaler and Anna Ritzenthaler, who were the owners at the time of the original story, but they gave us some new details. 

Robert Ritzenthaler, with REM Capital tells FOX 26, "Shortly after we took over management, the lender, CapitalOne/FannieMae, forced us to cede control of the property to a receiver, Terrantino Management, and we are no longer in control of the property. Not surprised to hear things have regressed. We are trying to get our lender to work with us, but so far it does not look good." 

What's next:

On Monday, FOX 26 saw Tarantino Properties, who is the new management company, according to residents. 

They’ve brought in Jet Waste to help pick up some of the trash. 

The owner of Jet Waste explains why the trash has not been picked up for a few weeks: "Our partners over at Tarantino have come in and help reconcile the situation to some degree," said Glenn Wilson, Owner of Jet Waste. "Naturally, we jumped at the call and sent some boxes out here and got some guys out here to load it, to reconcile the situation." 

What they're saying:

Jet Waste tasked with helping clean up trash speaks out, and shares why they were brought in

Wilson added why he and his team were called in to help:

"It sounds like this particular property, it kind of fell through a few hands in terms of where it ended up with Tarantino. They came in to save the day once it turned over to a court-ordered receivership, so they are asked to come in and act quickly." Wilson said. "They turned around, called us, and said, "Hey, can you come in and help us out, and so we did," Wilson said. 

The backstory:

Republic Services, a previous trash contractor under previous ownership speaks out. 

Before Jet Waste came into the picture, the previous contractor was Republic Services. We reached out to them for a statement, they told us:  

"We temporarily suspended services at Westbury Reserve Apartments in April due to a lack of payment. Although the customer made a partial payment that month, we have not received any additional payments. Despite our attempts to reach out and resolve the situation, the account remained delinquent due to nonpayment. As a result, we suspended services again on May 27. " said Republic Services Media Relations.

Wilson says he hopes to help get the trash picked up quickly.  

"We are looking forward to actually getting this weather-dependent in place tomorrow. In the meantime, we will utilize the dumpsters, like you have seen here on site, to help catch all the bulk items and help them get picked up and clean up for their regular service," Wilson said. "I think you’re going to see a lot of headway here. The residents can rest assured."

We did reach out to Capital One and Tarantino, but we are still awaiting a response.