WASHINGTON — Some D.C. residents said it is not only hot outside, but inside their apartments. The elderly tenants of Museum Square apartments in Northwest reached out to WUSA9 for help after they said they had trouble sleeping after three days of hot temperatures inside the Mount Vernon Triangle apartments.
Thursday afternoon, social workers delivered box fans to the elderly residents of Museum Square apartments. The temperature soared to 90 degrees outside and inside the thermometers read 86 degrees. According to DC law, landlords are not required to turn on air conditioning until May 15.
The issues are the latest in a decade-long legal battle with their landlords. According to court documents, back in 2014 the owners expressed their interest in demolishing the Mount Vernon Triangle property and building high-end condominiums. But the tenant association sued the landlord for violating the city’s TOPA laws, because he was only willing to sell the building “as is” for $250M. A judge found in favor of the tenant association ruling that $250M was not a fair price in 2014. The LLP pulled the sale, but tenants said they have neglected the property ever since.
Tenants also complained of malfunctioning elevators inside the 300-unit building. WUSA9 learned the owner, Parcel One Phase One Associates, LLP, was fined for elevator violations just two weeks ago. In fact, we spotted letters posted next to the elevators indicating residents were offered $5,000 and moving expenses to relocate. But many of the residents, who are Chinese, said they have lived there in the building for two decades.
“It’s so hot, just too much, too much,” said an exacerbated Lin Yuni, ”it’s far worse than it was 19 years ago.”
Through an interpreter, the 77-year-old said many tenants have health issues and she fears if there is a medical emergency EMTs would not be able to reach residents in time because of the faulty elevator.
“We were marching about 300 of us all the way down H Street saying we're not leaving, we're not leaving,” recalled 20-year tenant Lawrence C. Abraham of the 2014 legal dispute, “and then all of a sudden, I don't know what, they started offering money and said they were going to tear the building now I don't know what happened people just started leaving."
“With the mayor’s new task force announcing there's going to be a bunch of new money coming in to redevelop Chinatown, I think there's a real opportunity that after all these years to redevelop so where's this money going, where’s the investment going, where's this money going?” asked Cassie He with the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network.
WUSA9 tried reaching out to property owners and are still waiting to hear back. We are told out of 300 units only about 70 are occupied. Those tenants are on housing vouchers.