AC Issues in Southeast Apartments Leave Hundreds of Tenants in Sweltering Heat

Monday night, residents received notice from the complex’s management saying there was a problem with the rooftop chiller-type cooling system of the building

Hundreds of residents have been struggling without AC in Southeast DC. As seen on NBC Washington on June 7, 2021.
NBC Washington

Hundreds of tenants in a Southeast DC apartment building have been sweltering in the heat for days without air conditioning.

Residents of Marbury Plaza on Good Hope Road tried to stay cool any way they could Monday night after three long, hot days with no end in sight. 

With windows open, people camped out on their balconies for hours because it was cooler outside than inside.

"I live on the... second to the top floor, and as we all know, heat rises. So we've just been suffering," one tenant said.

At first, people thought the air-conditioning had not been turned on for the summer. 

Monday night, they received notice from the complex’s management saying there was a problem with the rooftop chiller-type cooling system of the building.

“Although the chiller in the building is running, we are currently experiencing issues with the system which is causing the air conditioning not to flow to all units," the note said.

It went on to say, “Currently, our third-party contractors are on site working to rectify the problem and get the system fully functional as soon as possible.”

One tenant on a top floor sent images of what it looked like after water started pouring from his ceiling in recent days.  

"Today my mom told me, 'Just go buy an AC and put it in your house. I'll give you the money for it. I don't care,'" the tenant who lives on the second to the top floor said. "I have asthma and bronchitis, but I wasn't even concerned with that. I was more concerned with my neighbors."

While the problem is resolved, management also said it was providing fans to tenants upon request.

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