SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of seniors in Salt Lake City, and those with disabilities, have spent this summer without central air inside their housing complex. One of those residents reached out to FOX 13 News after deciding she couldn't take it any longer.
At 63 years old, Shahri Bryant is packing up her trailer and moving out. She's lived inside a fourth-floor apartment at New City Plaza for only two months and said that's long enough.
"I've been on a waitlist forever. I finally get in... and there's no air," Bryant said.
According to Bryant, management provided a small portable air conditioner for her bedroom, but it wasn't enough to beat the heat. While FOX 13 News was at the complex, a maintenance worker stopped by to tell her that crews would be shutting off power to connect a temporary chiller to the building.
"I know... it'll shut off all of our little bit of air," Bryant responded.
Shahri isn't the only one struggling. Other residents shared how they've been dealing with the lack of working air conditioning for much longer than two months.
"I haven't had air here this year.. .not at all. It's only a little bit of air in one room. I'm on the 12th floor, and it's just not working," said resident Darryl Ringhurst.
"I feel like us elderly people are not being taken into consideration," added Shirley Norton. "I have horrible health problems. I had a bad heart, and I'm on oxygen."
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New City Plaza is a 299-unit complex for seniors and people with disabilities run by Housing Connect, the public housing authority serving Salt Lake County. According to a review of board minutes, the agency discussed the HVAC issues lasT year
"So we knew that there were some HVAC issues last year, but they were able to get the system running manually, and it worked last year. Fine may not be exact, but it worked," explained Housing Connect's Darin Mano.
Already this summer, the building's main chiller failed, leaving Housing Connect to provide small portable air conditioners. But Mano admitted that those units didn't do enough.
"We acknowledge that the residents have not been comfortable, and so that's why we brought this temporary chiller," he said.
Several residents told FOX 13 News that they were afraid to speak publicly, and some worried that complaining could put their housing at risk.
"That's not our policy, and that shouldn't be the case," said Mano.
For Bryant, the decision had already been made.
"I finally feel that I don't have to live in torture, if you will," she said.
Housing Connect claims the temporary chiller should keep the building cool while it waits for specialized parts to fix the main system, but the agency does not have a timeline for when those permanent repairs will be made.
