Residents of West Side CHA seniors' high-rise say they have no heat
CHICAGO (CBS) -- First, the pipes burst at a Chicago Housing Authority high-rise – sending water everywhere.
Then, the seniors who live in there say the heat went out.
On Tuesday night, they told CBS 2's Jermont Terry the conditions in the building are horrible.
There are nearly 200 units in the 17-story Albany Terrace Apartments seniors' housing building, at 3030 W. 21st Pl. in the South Lawndale community. Many of the people living in the building are using extreme and dangerous measures to keep warm inside their own apartments.
"We're going through hell," said resident Rosemary Coleman. "It is freezing."
Coleman is not talking about the temperature outside – but the temperature inside Albany Terrace.
"When you have to burn your oven and the eyes on your stove to get your apartment warm, it's bad," she said.
Using the stove for heat is dangerous. But Coleman and other residents are doing it anyway - just to stay warm in their CHA high-rise.
"If we didn't have our ovens on and our eyes running on our stove – yes, we know it's dangerous," said resident Charles Odum. "But what can we do?"
"I'm just asking for some heat – the building to be fixed," added Coleman. "Do something."
Coleman talked to CBS 2's Terry outside the West Side structure because CBS 2 is not allowed to film on CHA property. Terry asked Coleman what it says when he is told he can't come into the building with his photographer to see what the apartments look like.
"It says that they're trying to hide something," she said.
Pipes burst over the weekend, causing the lobby and sections of the building to flood. Soon afterward, residents said the heat went out.
"This going on the third – the third day now," Odum said.
And the seniors who live in Albany Terrace are fed up. Resident Albert Robinson is a Vietnam veteran – and would like the dignity of proper heat.
"Yeah, but what can we say?" Robinson said. "We can't stop paying rent because we don't have heat."
The CHA told CBS 2 that due to the weather, "a sprinkler pipe in the lobby and a hallway leaked, and added: "The leaks have been addressed, and repair work continues in the lobby affecting the heat in the first-floor common areas. Residential units are not affected and have heat and hot water."
If that is the case, why are residents using their stoves for heat?
"It's cold," said Robinson. "C-O-L-D – period."
"If they can't fix it while we're in there, place us somewhere," said Coleman.
Late Tuesday, CHA officials insisted heat was pumping into all the units, and said the extreme cold may be impacting some apartments.
CBS 2's Asal Rezaei spoke with a resident who says heat may be coming into the units but it's very limited and not enough to warm up even the surfaces in his apartment.
"My apartment, I woke up this morning I was freezing this morning. I'm just now getting a little toasty. I got the oven on," said Charles Odum, founder of Union to End Slums. "I'd say it'd have to be in the 30s."
A CHA spokesperson said they have been working with building management to address residents' concerns.
"Repairmen have been onsite throughout the morning and believe the situation will be resolved today," CHA spokeswoman Karen Vaughan said in an email.
As for the entire building, the CHA plans to start a $100 million renovation in January where they will move some residents to other floors. The CHA said the renovations will include upgrades to residential units and common spaces, improved heating, central air conditioning, new electrical, plumbing replacement, and a new additional elevator.
Yet the seniors with whom Terry spoke just want to know – what are they supposed to do now?
"Maybe some of that money might have to be chucked off to let us relocate us. We want to bring them to the table. This is what we hope to get out of this," Odum said.
Vaughan said any residents who feel they have insufficient heat will be offered hotel rooms.
Late Wednesday, the CHA said they have temporarily relocated six residents of Albany Terrace to a hotel until repairs are completed.
