INKSTER, Mich. (WXYZ) — As temperatures soar this week, tenants at the Thompson Towers in Inkster say they have no air conditioning.
The 7 News Detroit team received a tip about the living conditions Tuesday and went to look into it.
Thompson Towers is an affordable housing community for those with limited incomes including senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Outside the housing complex, open windows and window AC units can be seen at many units.
We went to ask management about the air conditioning. A site manager informed us that it went out overnight.
They said that they had people come in that day to work on getting the air conditioning back up and running and that as of noon on Tuesday, it was working again.
They said it would take some time for the complex to cool down as they run on a boiler system, but cold air was now coming out of the vents.
After talking to them, Thompson Towers tenant of 17 years Robert Gibson invited us up to his apartment on the third floor.
Once there, we could feel for ourselves: it was still warm air coming out of the vents.
"They talking about how it’s working. Ain’t nobody been out here. Put your hand up there," Gibson said. "About 3 this morning, I woke up, it was so hot in here. I had the windows shut. I couldn’t even breath. They ain't going to fix it, they ain't going to fix it. They talking about it’s fixed — that’s not fixed."
Gibson lives in his apartment with his 14-year-old daughter and their dog.
He told us this issue happens every summer. In fact, dozens of residents told us that including the apartment complex's past activity coordinator.
"They tell us that they’re fixing it, we wait for them to fix it and this keeps happening," Shari Poole said. "On these hot days, 90s and up."
Our team asked a room full of tenants at the complex lobby if any of them had AC.
Everyone said no.
Eugenia Williams, who has lived at Thompson Towers for 15 years, told us the air coming out of her vents was, "Hot, hot, very hot."
We also talked to Synora Jackson, who was wearing a portable fan around her neck.
"Now I have to pull this out," she said.
We told Poole that on-site complex management informed us that the air conditioning should slowly come back on.
"In certain areas. So you can feel air here, she doesn’t have any in her apartment," Poole said, referencing to her neighbor.
On the first and second floors, the air seemed to be working, but floors three through 10 did not seem to have any air.
Our team wanted to check back in with management after talking with more tenants. They closed the office blinds on us and said to contact their corporate office, Independent Management Services.
We called them and did not hear back.
"People are hanging on because this is their home, this is their house and it’s just crazy," Poole said.
