PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — The heat hasn't eased, but some relief appears to be on the way for residents of one apartment complex in Prince George's County, less than 24 hours after WUSA9 reported on the lack of AC at North Hills Apartments.
On Wednesday, WUSA9 was invited into several apartments at the District Heights complex, where the air conditioning wasn't working.
"If it's 98 degrees outside, it's 108 inside," said Asia Hall, who lives at the complex.
Another tenant, Leah Craig, invited WUSA9 inside her apartment where the wall thermometer read 90 degrees. Tenants told WUSA9 this has been the case for months, despite countless calls and e-mails to management. At the time, the only solutions they say they got from the property, were some box fans.
"This is the fan that they gave me," said Craig as she showed WUSA9 the fan blowing on high. "It's still hot in here as you can feel and I can't take them to the pool to cool off because the pools aren't even open."
WUSA9 reached out to North Hills Apartments multiple times throughout the day both on Wednesday and Thursday. A woman who answered the phone at the leasing office Thursday told WUSA9 she'd have their communications teams reach out.
Around 6:15 p.m., WUSA9 received an e-mail from a PR company who wrote that they are representing North Hills Management. They shared the following statement on behalf of North Hills Management:
"We apologize to our residents for the air conditioning disruptions and understand the issues this has caused. The extreme heat wave impacting the region has strained our HVAC systems and limited the availability of repair supplies, technicians, and replacement units. We are working around the clock to make repairs and to install replacements when necessary. In the meantime, we have opened cooling centers onsite and are providing residents with portable air conditioning units. We will continue to keep residents updated as we work to restore air conditioning as quickly as possible.”
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They also sent the following, in a letter to all residents of the complex.
Dear Residents of North Hills,
We are writing to update you on our efforts to keep all HVAC units operational during the heat wave in the Maryland area. The past six days of 97+ degree temperatures have put a tremendous strain on the HVAC systems and on the availability of repair supplies, skilled HVAC technicians, and replacement units. We want to apologize to each of you for the inconvenience and are working around the clock to restore service to all HVAC units.
The North Hills management and maintenance team is closely tracking calls for non-working HVAC units as they come in and dispatching either a team member or contractor to diagnose and make repairs as soon as possible.
For residents awaiting repairs, the North Hills team is offering solutions in the meantime.
This includes:
- Purchasing and deploying portable air conditioning units and fans as they are available at local stores.
- Opening the model unit at 6501 Hil-Mar Drive as an emergency cooling center for residents needing refuge from the heat.
- Working to open the pool and a second emergency cooling center in the pool house by Friday. Pool repairs are now complete and final County inspections were completed today.
We appreciate your help by keeping thermostats set no lower than 69 degrees to reduce strain on the HVAC systems. We also encourage you to close curtains and blinds to block out the sun and lower inside temperatures.
We will continue to work as quickly as possible to diagnose and make repairs and will employ all available HVAC contractors and other outside help to supplement the efforts of the North Hills team. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress. Please reach out to the North Hills management team at (240) 455-7518 if you need to submit a maintenance request or have additional questions.
Sincerely,
The Franklin Johnston Group
"I think it was bogus and only sent out because of the news last night," said one of the tenants who lives in building 6531, and asked to remain anonymous.
She told WUSA9 that since she's spoken out about the AC issues, her inbox has been flooded with messages.
"Oxon Hills Village, Heather Hills Apartments," she listed off.
She told WUSA9 people are sending her messages about not having AC, and about other issues as well, that they can't get answers on.
"I really feel hard for those who are suffering right now," said Prince George's County Councilmember Wala Blegay.
She told WUSA9 if someone is in a situation like this, the first thing they should do is file a 311 complaint.
"Before you contact your council member's office, file a 311 request," Blegay said. "That is the way we can actually account for the fact that we have names and addresses who have had these violations."
Blegay said the Council is working with the county to get these types of issues addressed as quickly as possible.
The Prince George's County Office of the County Executive sent WUSA9 the following statement Thursday night:
The Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) has been out to address the lack of air conditioning at North Hills Apartments in District Heights. The property manager has provided a portable air conditioning unit and fan to each apartment. DPIE will continue to work with the property manager to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Residents who live in an apartment complex and do not have air conditioning should contact PGC311.
If you live in Prince George's County and need to find a cooling center that's near you, click here.