DETROIT – Residents at Detroit’s Infinity Park Apartments say they’ve been dealing with sporadic heat this season. The apartment complex says no one is currently without heat.
“Open the oven door. Now, I just let this warm up to keep the bottom side of the house warm,” Derald Blessman, a resident at the Infinity Park Apartments, said while turning his oven up to 400 degrees.
Blessman moved in last month. Apartment management confirmed to Local 4 that Blessman was without consistent heat for an extended time due to not having a necessary part.
“I haven’t had 24 hours of working heat up until about January the fifth,” he said.
Blessman said he submitted several maintenance requests.
Management tells him the issue was fixed a few days ago, but Blessman is worried it won’t last.
Another resident says they can’t get heat in most of the house.
She says when the heat happens to work, it only warms up in the bathroom and her room.
Local 4 asked apartment management about units only getting heat in certain areas.
The management said anyone with that issue is likely on a medication that impacts their body temperature.
“My kids don’t get warm in there, it don’t work,” she said. “Down here, in the living room and the dining room, it doesn’t work either. The kitchen, it don’t work. It like blow cold air.”
She’s also using the oven to heat the house. She knows it’s dangerous but says it’s often the only option.
Blessman sealed his windows with duct tape to try and help.
“The temperatures got below 20, it was really cold in here and I had kids, and I myself have sickle cell,” Blessman said.
“They came out and he checked it and he put the heat on like 80 and it was still blowing out cold air and he told me it was going to warm up and it didn’t,” a resident said.
Infinity Park Apartments full statement below:
“I take any report involving heat or resident safety very seriously. At this time, however, I am not aware of any units at our property that are without heat, and we currently have zero open work orders in our maintenance system related to any heating issues.
I have been in the multifamily housing business for 27 years, and ensuring residents have safe, functioning heat is always a top priority. In the rare cases where a repair cannot be completed, it is typically because a resident is in active eviction status and has denied our maintenance team access to the unit. Outside of that circumstance, heating issues are addressed immediately.
To address this properly and take swift action if needed, please provide the name and address of the resident you are referring to. Once I have that information, I will personally make sure the situation is reviewed and resolved immediately. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
Infinity Park Apartments