METAIRIE La. (WGNO) — The heat is especially dangerous if you don’t have air conditioning at home, and at The Maxwell Apartments in Metairie, residents have been without power for two weeks.
“This is one of the hottest heat waves that we are going through and it’s hotter in our apartments than it is outside,” Katelyn Vega, a resident of The Maxwell Apartments, said.
“Everyone is just outside. It is hot. We are just desperate at this point,” Mariangeles Vazquez, a resident of The Maxwell Apartments, said.
All these folks living at The Maxwell Apartments on Edenborn Avenue in Metairie are desperately trying to cool off.
“It literally feels like we are in a hurricane without a hurricane,” Vazquez said.
Residents like Vazquez can’t take living without A/C anymore. The whole apartment complex hasn’t had air conditioning for two weeks, and for them, that’s not cool.
“I’m frustrated. I’m mad. It is just ridiculous. We pay like $1400 to $1500 in rent here. The conditions we are living in are inhumane. Nobody should be living like this,” she said.
The heat forced father of two kid, Olando Carmona, to take his kids to their grandma’s house in Slidell. For him, it is just unbearable.
“Looking right here at the thermometer, it is showing 90 degrees, but it is definitely closer to 110 degrees, or 120 degrees, and it feels like a sauna,” he said.
Carmona went on to say, “Me and residents came up with a trick where we stick our head in the freezer for five minutes to cool off.”
He went on to say, “I have two fans. Without this, I’d be heat stroking and convulsing on the floor. It’s ridiculous. It’s got to stop. It has to stop.”
Vega said, “This is a health issue. Now a real health hazard issue. This is affecting everybody.”
Residents have been trying to get ahold of the apartment complex managers and maintenance workers, but all they get is an answering machine, so they’ve left voicemail messages.
WGNO tried calling and left a voicemail message to find out what the problem is and how long it will take to get fixed. So far, no word back yet.
Residents said they got an e-mail from apartment management saying they are hoping there will be a temporary solution by Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Residents said they were offered hotel stays for Monday night but would need to pay and then be reimbursed, according to the e-mail.
On Tuesday, In a statement from Ed Cafasso, on behalf of The Maxwell said, “The air conditioning system at The Maxwell malfunctioned this weekend after weeks of keeping the community cool in record high temperatures. A temporary chiller system arrived this morning and is being installed. Residents were offered hotel rooms in the area for Monday evening at our expense. We appreciate the patience everyone has shown as we deal with the impact the extreme heat is having on the community. We are working to restore full service to the property as quickly as possible.”
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