DETROIT – As temperatures crept back into the low 90s, the air conditioning slowly kicked back on inside the Jefferson Apartments on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.
The 30-story building had been acting like a massive pizza oven after the building’s air conditioning failed to start last week.
“We’ve been working diligently, and as of today, 75% of the system has been restored to operation,” Scott Shefman, the president of Freidman Real Estate, said on Friday (June 27). “Efforts will be ongoing until the entire system is fully functional.”
Friedman, based in Farmington Hills, has been the management company overseeing The Jefferson, formerly known as The Jeffersonian, since 2023 on behalf of the title holder, Fannie Mae, which acquired the building through an auction in 2022.
The lender took over the building following the collapse of the business partnership between the prior owners, Joe Barbat and Arie Leibovitz, who had bought it in 2017.
“I’ve heard some people say that their apartment is as high as 95 to 100 degrees,” a three-year resident of the building told Local 4 on Tuesday.
We are concealing her identity because she fears retaliation from management.
“Like the other issues going on in the building are annoying or inconvenient, but this is dangerous,” she said. “I mean, there are elderly and disabled people in the building.”
Residents have also been bringing their concerns to the city, both to City Council President Mary Sheffield, who represents the district, and to the city’s Buildings, Safety, Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED).
Several residents are angry but fear going to the media or the city because of what they believe is retaliation, including termination or refusal to renew leases.
“We have been monitoring the situation and will continue until full resolution,” David Bell, BSEED’s director, said, encouraging people to contact them to file any property maintenance issues with them. “Residents have a right to safe, healthy housing and may also contact Right to Counsel for any threats made by the landlord or property management.”