MILWAUKEE — A concerned resident at the Garden Place Senior Apartments in Milwaukee reached out to TMJ4 Monday morning.
“I'm tired of not having any heat,” resident, Charlie Booker said.
That's the chilling reality for Booker.
"My heat hasn't worked since October,” she explained.
Our TMJ4 crew was welcomed into the complex by Booker and other residents. They noticed a chill in the air as they spoke with them. Many were wearing coats and hats while sitting in their own apartments.
"You shouldn't have to wake up in the morning in a cold apartment when you are paying your rent every month,” Booker said.
Many residents had to go out and buy space heaters as temperatures outside dropped to single digits this past weekend.
Watch: 'It's freezing': Residents reach out after apartment boilers break
"We've been going out buying electric heaters. I just spent $92 on some heaters. And this shouldn't happen,” Booker explained.
Residents are even turning on their ovens just to keep their apartments warm during the day.
"And the oven is not good. That's dangerous,” resident, Twyla Coleman explained.
Coleman said residents have called the property manager multiple times and haven't heard back. I tried calling and knocking on the door of the apartment office Monday afternoon.
The president of Horizon Management Services Inc., Becky Hildebrandt, emailed TMJ4’s Megan Lee late Monday afternoon.
Here is Hildebrandt’s full statement:
Thank you for reaching out regarding the heating issues at Garden Place. We understand the concerns of our residents and want to assure everyone that we are actively addressing the situation.
Currently, we are in the process of replacing all four boilers in the building to ensure a more reliable and efficient heating system. This is a significant upgrade that will ultimately provide better service to all residents. However, we acknowledge that this process has temporarily affected the heating in the building.
To mitigate the inconvenience, we have provided space heaters to affected residents. Additionally, we have adjusted the vents and increased the temperature on the existing boilers to 185°F to maximize the heat output during this transition period. We are working diligently with Mared Mechanical to expedite the boiler replacement process and expect to have the new system operational as soon as possible.
We appreciate the patience and understanding of our residents during this time. Our top priority is their comfort and safety, and we are committed to resolving this issue promptly.
Lee asked if the residents would be reimbursed for their electric bills.
Hildebrandt said, “Yes, we will be and in addition, if a resident purchased a space heater on their own, we will be reimbursing them for that cost as well.”
The Department of Neighborhood Services tells Lee the management company has until Friday to get this problem resolved.
"They knew winter was coming. They should have [taken] care of this a long time ago,” Booker explained.
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