PITTSBURGH — It’s been four days since residents of the Ebenezer Towers lost their air conditioning. The issue is so great that the mayor’s office and a congresswoman have gotten involved.
“It’s a mess here, I’m telling you it’s a mess, and I’m tired,” said Roberta Tyler, a 5-year resident.
Ebenezer Towers residents say they’re fed up after going days without air conditioning inside their Hill District apartments.
“It’s the heat. They’re not doing nothing right for this building,” said Helen McCoy, a 7-year resident. “My mother lives in here. She’s 85 and blind.”
Many of the tenants who live in the high-rise are senior citizens. They’ve been using fans to try and stay cool.
On Monday, Channel 11 first reported that the air conditioning was out. That day, Ebenezer Towers officials said they were ordering a replacement for the broken part that was causing the problem. We were told the problem was going to be fixed as soon as possible, but residents say otherwise.
“I would like to think we are gonna get it back, it’s just when is the question,” said Calvin Jackson, a resident for eight days. “They keep giving us the same report, like we got it one more piece, one more piece, and it’s just lip service.”
Wednesday saw a bit of hope for residents, after they say representatives from Rep. Summer Lee’s office went floor to floor, speaking with residents about the issues they’re facing and handing out fans.
“They went through the building looking at the problems, like the rubbish backed up on different floors,” said Daniel Brown, president of the tenant council at Ebenezer Towers. “They went and did a wellness check on the tenants, and they see how hot it is. They’re trying to help, but this is just day one. We’ve been going through this for quite a while.”
Longtime residents say not having air conditioning has been awful. They say it’s just one of many issues they’re going through at Ebenezer Towers.
“I don’t know if I’m going to wake up with the lights on,” said Elizabeth, an 11-year resident. “We had the lights go out, and we didn’t even know. We haven’t had water sometimes. We didn’t know. We turned it on and we didn’t have no water. They do whatever they want to do. They don’t let us know, and then it’s not our business if we ask about it.”
The Pittsburgh mayor’s office says it and other agencies will be evaluating whether any of the conditions constitute violations. Channel 11 reached out to Ebenezer Towers for comment on when the air conditioning will come back on, but hasn’t heard back.
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