{"id":405736,"date":"2026-08-13T19:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405736\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T19:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:16:20","slug":"the-bonnie-tenants-have-weeks-to-move-after-nearby-apartment-explosion-a-nonprofit-covers-the-rent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405736\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bonnie tenants have weeks to move after nearby apartment explosion. A nonprofit covers the rent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wen Becerra hasn\u2019t had hot water or a working stovetop in his apartment since May 28 when his gas was cut after a neighboring apartment building blew up in an explosion<\/a> that killed three people.<\/p>\n

On Friday, he and other residents of The Bonnie apartments were told they had to be out of their units in three days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s impossible to move out in three days,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cThe problem is that they send us the letters on Friday at 5:30. That’s not fair because Saturday, everything\u2019s closed. Sunday, everything’s closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city says management extended the move-out date until Aug. 31 \u2014 giving residents a little more time, though only four people remain, Becerra said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s especially difficult because most of the residents are largely low-income, Becerra said.<\/p>\n

Now, Mission Oak Cliff \u2014 a local nonprofit \u2014 told KERA the group is going to cover about eight months rent for displaced residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people have been through something very traumatic,\u201d said Mission Oak Cliff director Julie Hargrove. \u201cThey have been in their apartments, but due to the lack of gas, they haven’t had hot water, they haven\u2019t been able to cook for themselves. The electricity was even off for a short period of time. But mold has started to grow, and so they need to get out of there and start their lives over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Bonnie apartments at 308 E. 8th St. on Aug. 12. Residents have been without gas since May 28 when a neighboring apartment was leveled in a gas explosion. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the city confirmed to KERA the City Attorney\u2019s Office opened a case to address code violations at the building and requested repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe owner has informed tenants of plans to vacate the property while they work on the repairs,\u201d the spokesperson said, adding that staff at the Office of Housing & Community Empowerment were working to help residents. \u201cStaff also spoke with the property owner today who agreed to postpone eviction filings until the end of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n

KERA reached out to The Bonnie\u2019s owner for an interview but did not hear back. This story will be updated with any response.<\/p>\n

Becerra, who\u2019s lived in the apartment for seven years, showed KERA a portion of his bathroom wall he painted over due to what he said was mold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI painted it myself because they never came,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges after the gas went out, he didn\u2019t want to move.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I like this place to live because it’s quiet, nobody messes with you,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cBut it is what it is. When you have to move, you have to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wen<\/p>\n

Wen Becerra packed up most of his belongings Wednesday as he prepares to move out before the end of the month. <\/p>\n

The Bonnie\u2019s owner also owns the neighboring apartment, The Clyde, that was leveled by a gas explosion on May 28.<\/p>\n

Three people \u2014 Marisol Perez, her 1-year-old son Erik Perez Jr. and Democratic activist Sylvia Collins<\/a> \u2014 died in the explosion.<\/p>\n

A preliminary report<\/a> by the National Transportation Safety Board found the apartment exploded after drillers taking soil samples<\/a> struck an unmarked gas pipe. At least five lawsuits<\/a> have been filed against the gas pipe owner, Atmos Energy, and the property owner.<\/p>\n

An investigation by KERA<\/a> found more than 4,800 gas pipes have been struck since the beginning of 2026.<\/p>\n

Becerra was approached outside his home Wednesday by apartment sales agents trying to show him available units.<\/p>\n

He told KERA the prices didn\u2019t look too bad, and he would take a tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to find a place to stay,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cYou can’t be living on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dylan Duke is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan at\u00a0dduke@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider\u00a0making a tax-deductible gift today<\/a>. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wen Becerra hasn\u2019t had hot water or a working stovetop in his apartment since May 28 when his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-405736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}