WASHINGTON — D.C. is under another heat emergency through Wednesday and weathering these temperatures is a challenge even with a working air conditioner at home. Some residents at the Skyline Apartments in Southeast DC, say they don’t have that luxury.
“For a week now my A/C unit has been out. I had my two-week-old grandbaby over here, I had to send him home because it was like 92 degrees in my house," said Monica Ford. She told WUSA9 two days after her A/C went out, she wasn’t even able to keep her food cool. "My refrigerator is out, and I just went grocery shopping. The only thing they gave me to accommodate me was an portable A/C unit. That’s just in my room. The rest of my house is completely hot.”
Ford believes the apartment’s management company, Redwood Communities, is overwhelmed.
“I’ve called them several times and they’re telling me there’s a lot of people, like 20 some units that need A/C," said Ford.
Residents say broken air conditioning is a recent problem. Other residents have had issues with this complex for years.
“Oh man I’ve lived here for over 30 years," said Henroy Mitchell who claims rodents and insects come up through his broken floor. “They keep saying that they are working on it, working on it and finally they tell me I’m not the only one, so basically they just slapped me in the face.”
Other residents say they’ve been put up in hotels for weeks, multiple times.
“Have my ceiling leak or the floors leaking, and water is coming up from the floor so any rainy day I just have to be prepared that we may have to leave out of my house," said Kenzie Robinson.
They say they are fed up with management and hope this sends a message.
“I would just like to see the same way they want us to pay our rent, that they come and do what they’re supposed to do," said Robinson.
Residents say Redwood Communities took over managing duties in 2020.
"We switch management all the time to the point where we don’t know who is in control," said Ford.
We reached out to the Skyline Apartments management and are waiting for a reply.