Yonkers Apartment Complex Residents Forced Out Of Homes Due To Lack Of Heat
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – What if your home was barely warmer than the outdoors?
As CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported, that was the grim reality for a number of people in the Yonkers Apartments on Highland Avenue in Yonkers.
"This is ridiculous. It's been 11 days that we have no heat at all," resident Joanne Baker said.
Yonkers city inspectors put up signs condemning 28 apartments in the building Thursday night because of the frigid and unsafe temperatures.
A guard stopped CBS2's crew at the building's entrance, saying, "They told me not to let you in here."
CBS2 has been trying for days to get answers from management, but they have not responded.
Meanwhile, the remaining residents said they were suffering mightily.
The cold made resident Tammie Lewis especially uncomfortable after a motorcycle accident, CBS2's Matt Kozar reported. She went off to her mother's home Thursday night.
"It's cold, and I'm ready to be warm, and due to the accident that I had, I can't do another night in the cold," she said.
"My frustration is that it's negative degrees, when people need the heat the most, and yet, still they spend millions of dollars renovating this apartment complex, and at this time when it's negative degrees they have no heat," another resident named Phil said.
Yonkers Apartment Complex Residents Forced Out Of Homes Due To Lack Of Heat
As Rincon reported, many residents bought space heaters, saying they need at least one in every room.
"But right now the heaters are not even working because it's so cold," Baker said.
Building management hung up on CBS2 when they called earlier in the day, and residents say they're not getting much more.
"Anybody who calls the management office, they're telling them that they have heat. We don't have no heat. They're lying," Baker said.
Some of the residents of the building have already been told to register with the Red Cross, which will put them up at the Police Athletic League building about a mile and a half away. But they say building management should be helping and providing them with hotel rooms.
"The city inspector just came to my house and told me that after 8 o'clock today, I'm not allowed to sleep in my house. So we have to go deal with the Red Cross, and go sleep in the PAL for the night. (How do you feel about that?) That's kind of ridiculous, man, because we're paying rent and stuff and they're not delivering us adequate heat, and I don't think that's right," Badru said.
Meanwhile, residents saw signs inviting them to the community room which is a little warmer, but some find that insulting.
"Due to unfortunate circumstances, the community room will be open with heat, you can sleep there and hang out, but no smoking. Would you want to leave your house just to go sit in a waiting office, because you're paying rent for no heat?" Phil said.
The building has 129 units. It is privately owned but the housing is federally subsidized.
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