Eighteen floors, a breathtaking view of Melun or the surrounding countryside… And above all, a key location for drug trafficking in the city-prefecture.
Located in the Almont district, the tower at 17, avenue du Maréchal-Juin has been experiencing a major “cleaning and rehabilitation operation” in its common areas since May 25 by Habitat 77, the first social landlord of Seine-et. -Marne and the most represented on Melun.
There is plenty to do: broken digicodes, ceiling lights unscrewed and thrown to the ground, blocked ventilation grilles, broken windows, paintings soiled with urine or covered with tags linked to illicit trafficking, etc.
And again, chairs, mattresses or supermarket carts that obstructed the emergency stairs have been removed before.
“They do this so that the police or the teams in the office cannot access it.
This can be very dangerous for fire safety, ”points out André Rastoll, the safety advisor at Habitat 77.
Degraded landings, dismantled lamps, blocked ventilation grilles are regularly observed by the teams of the lessor Habitat 77. LP / SB
“Our heritage is not a rubbish dump.
This is unacceptable !
Each year, we put 200,000 euros here to refurbish things and it is systematically degraded by individuals, mostly outside.
We say stop.
We will not let go of our tenants in the face of the dealers!
», Gets carried away Denis Jullemier, president of Habitat 77 and vice-president (LR) in charge of the habitat at the departmental council.
A firm speech hammered home since taking office as President in 2018. Since his arrival, ten surveillance cameras have been installed around the Habitat 77 sites and linked to the urban supervision center of Melun.
Two additional cameras will soon be installed around 17, avenue du Maréchal-Juin.
On the site program: electrical work and replacement of more than a hundred lights, repair of technical ducts and doors in common areas, carpentry work, replacement of fire doors and other access doors, cleaning general of halls, stairs, corridors, landings, floors, walls, ceilings, various tags and inscriptions, painting work, in particular at the entrance to the residence and in the halls and, finally, removal of all furniture and various objects from inside and out.
Chechen security guards as reinforcements during the day
The well-being and safety of the tenants of the 68 apartments in the tower are at stake. "We had the entire fire safety system redone, the smoke extraction system", insists Marc Lutgen, manager of the sector, showing a ventilation grid. "Blocked by the dealers because they believe that there is a camera behind!"
" Which is not the case.
The ventilation grids are blocked "by the dealers because they believe that there is a camera behind", according to the manager of the sector.
LP / SB
The same goes for the free-standing blocks which provide light for five hours when the ceiling lights are out. “They see cameras everywhere and take all the blocks apart. However, each autonomous block costs 100 euros. We have 70. Do the math: that's 7,000 euros, or 7,700 euros with VAT, ”he sighs. "All that we invest in repairs here is so many resources that are not put elsewhere in additional renovations," protested Denis Jullemier.
The presence of Chechen Protection Plus security guards between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. would apparently limit the damage and noise pollution, and would temporarily remove the dealers from the hall or from the forecourt of the tower.
Since the start of the work, they have been watching during the day.
“Otherwise, companies find it difficult to do their job.
In the past, the elevator operator had to show his card… ”breathes a woman from the Habitat 77 management team.
The Protection Plus team of security guards secures the premises during the work.
LP / SB
The lessor knows that the process is worth the effort.
“Apart from trafficking, tenants tell us that they appreciate the neighborhood and its shops, and housing too.
In this tower built in 1971, one offers here T2 of 68 square meters, T4 of 96 square meters and even T5 of 105 square meters for only 500 euros of rent excluding charges!
», Assures Françoise Ober, head of the sector agency.
Of the 68 dwellings in the tower, five are vacant but two are already reserved and the other three are offered for rent.
Nothing to do with the tower of Lorient, plagued from bottom to top by drug trafficking, with 112 housing units from which tenants want to leave.
Nobody wants to settle there.
It will be demolished in 2023 as part of the new national urban renewal program (NPNRU).
What do tenants think? “The office puts back to the pot each time to maintain, maintain. It's good. But until the drug sale problem is solved, there is no way out. It is not the role of the donor to resolve this, it is that of the public authorities. In the meantime, it's the barrel of the Danaïdes! », Sighs a representative of a tenants association which prefers to remain anonymous.
