Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comments from LMHA officials.
Bonnie Johnson was planning to take a bath before bed on Christmas, but her hot water was out.
She tried again Thursday, and again on Friday morning, but the tap in her Vistula Manor apartment still ran cold.
Residents at the complex owned by Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority were notified Thursday of “an emergency to replace the boiler,” according to flyers posted in the building by LMHA management. The issue was fixed by afternoon Friday, as promised, but Ms. Johnson said residents at Vistula Manor, located at 615 Cherry St., endure hot-water outages about every week or two.
“It could be out for a day,” she said Thursday. “Now it’s two days, and we’re afraid it’s going to be three days and beyond.”
LMHA officials did not return calls seeking comment Friday, but, in an emailed statement Saturday, defended the actions taken by the agency to fix the hot water. A contractor called in to investigate the issue Thursday morning and discovered several new components were needed to restore hot water. Those parts were ordered and the hot water was working again by Friday.
“Hopefully the above shows that LMHA acted quickly to address the problem caused by the inoperable hot water system,” the statement read. “It notified residents of the problem and took steps to fix the problem long term.”
Ms. Johnson confirmed the water was running hot by about 2 p.m. Friday. She washed dishes and took a hot bath.
Last year another LMHA property, Parqwood Apartments, was without hot water for several weeks in November because of an underperforming boiler. Residents were offered trips to the YMCA to shower and many expressed concern for home-bound and elderly residents who could not make the trip and struggled to heat water at home.
LMHA leadership severed their contract with the building’s management company after the incident.
Ms. Johnson has lived at Vistula Manor, built in 1967, for three years and said the frequent lack of hot water isn’t the only issue that plagues the low-income housing units.
She and a second resident, who has lived in the complex since 2011 and declined to be identified, said the building also has ongoing issues with pests such as cockroaches and bedbugs, as well as crime and drug activity. Last summer the air conditioning went out for about a month during the hottest part of the year, they said, and the heat was unbearable.
“There are a lot of elderly and disabled people who live here,” Ms. Johnson said. “A lot of us have health issues. I have health and breathing issues. It affected my breathing.”
They have reported issues to management but the problems continue, she said.
“They haven’t done anything,” Ms. Johnson said. “It’s just like talking to a brick wall.”
She said the odor of marijuana and other drugs is often smelled in hallways and seeps into her apartment. Other residents continually play loud music or have noisy gatherings in the parking lot outside.
Residents receive threats and fear retaliation from other residents for reporting such activities, Ms. Johnson said. She now carries pepper spray with her everywhere.
“I don’t feel safe walking the hallways,” she said.
Residents also fear retaliation from management for continuing to report maintenance issues. A resident said she believed two previous tenants were evicted primarily because they complained to management too often about problems in the building.
“I’m afraid that maybe they’ll try to evict me,” Ms. Johnson said. “Or maybe they won’t fix things when I need it. But this is ridiculous.”
She said she doesn’t have the funds to pick up and move. And other residents are in the same situation with very limited income, no family or friends available to help, and no transportation of their own. Ms. Johnson is trying to save up money to move to Kentucky in a few years.
“I have nowhere to go, friends, relatives, or whatever,” Ms. Johnson said. “Either that or it’s the streets. ... If I got rich and won the lottery, I’d take off to go to Kentucky in a heartbeat.”
Staff writer Sarah Elms contributed to this report.
First Published December 28, 2019, 12:58 a.m.
