MYNORTHWEST NEWS

‘It’s been hell’: Big renovation leaves Seattle seniors overheated

Aug 25, 2016, 6:34 AM | Updated: 6:35 am

senior housing...

For seven months, the sound of music has been drowned out by the sound of saws and hammers at the Phinney Terrace Apartments. (KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

If you turn down the classical music and look beyond the fine art, you will hear the sound of an oxygen concentrator with a tube that leads straight to 86-year-old Eleanor Brown.

“I’m a little warped,” Brown said.

The New York native is feisty, but in her final months of life.

“My goal was to make it to the election. That’s my goal,” she said.

Walk down the halls of the Phinney Terrace Apartments and you will see no problems.

Open the doors and you will open a floodgate of complaints. “It’s been hell. Have you ever had an MRI? It’s been like living in an MRI since February,” Brown said.

For seven months, the sound of music has been drowned out by the sound of saws and hammers. Construction workers have been removing the decks and sliding glass doors.

They are being replaced with windows and blocks that prevent them from opening more than 3 5/8 inches.

On a 95-degree day, there was no air conditioning and no breeze coming into the living room of 75-year-old Judy Mitchell. “The temperature is 84 degrees,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell survived leukemia, but is having trouble dealing with the heat in her apartment.

“On days like this, it’s life threatening. It’s elder abuse as far as I’m concerned. I’ve never been denied fresh air. I want the limiter that’s on my living room window off because this is intolerable,” Mitchell said.

Residents say when they complained to the fire department about safety, a decision was made to allow them to open one bedroom window wider.

The rest of the windows have blocks that limit their opening. Tarry Master said he wrote a letter to the Seattle Housing Authority about the hot temperatures in his apartment and heard “nothing.”

The Seattle Housing Authority says that window limiters, “are now code in the city of Seattle.” The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections told KIRO 7, “These blocks do not comply with the code. Limiting devices are supposed to be easily disengaged… within reasonable reach… and easily removed for fire department access.”

Residents say when they burn toast or popcorn, there is no way to clear the air or their lungs.

“We have to have doctor’s letter in order to open our window. And my doctor is like, ‘What do you mean you have to have a letter to open your window?’” resident Kathy Terry said.

Some residents say they are afraid to speak up for fear of being evicted. “Well, yeah, because, where are we going with the rent in Seattle? Look where we live. Course they’re nervous to speak up,” Terry said.

On a day when the outside temperature was in the mid-90s, the heat in Master’s top floor apartment was on the rise and he was not afraid to speak his mind.

“Abominable,” Master said. Master used to work in a steel mill and said his apartment is just as hot. “Eighty-eight, 90 degrees. That’s why I get out,” Master said as he stood outside the building.

Back inside, Eleanor Brown would like to see her windows open wider. In fact, she has a doctor’s order that requests the windows “to open to full capacity to provide adequate ventilation.

The doctor writes, “This will improve quality of breathing.”

Brown is not holding her breath for a response. She points to the black tarps on her window and fears she will go to her grave battling the heat and the Seattle Housing Authority.

“Black plastic. When they succeed in killing me, they can use it as my shroud,” Brown said.

After KIRO 7 alerted the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, it sent two inspectors to the property Monday to check out the windows.

The architect promised to provide inspectors with evidence the windows meet the ventilation requirements of the Seattle building code.

KIRO 7 took the unusual step of inviting the head of the Housing Authority to view our story in advance.

Instead, a spokesperson, Kerry Coughlin, spoke with us by phone and sent an email.

Coughlin wrote “… the building repairs were essential for the comfort and safety of our residents” and “we are obligated to follow building codes in the renovation. SHA cares very much about the well-being of our residents and I’m glad I had a chance to convey that to you.”

The Department of Construction and Inspections also sent KIRO 7 an email.

“We do have standards for minimum temperatures, but not maximum temperatures. At some point, once safety and livability standards are met, it’s the owner’s responsibility to make sure their units are comfortable to the tenants,” spokesperson Wendy Shark said.

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‘It’s been hell’: Big renovation leaves Seattle seniors overheated