WASHINGTON — This really isn’t the ideal week for the heating to be out.
With a blast of frigid air hanging over the region, most people pick up their
pace between the sidewalk and the front door.
But for residents in an apartment complex in Northeast D.C., home sweet home
is hardly cozy, and they’re not testing hamstrings to get inside.
The boiler went wrong at the Lexington Apartments, on Capitol Hill, earlier
this fall, and the cold snap hit before a replacement part could arrive.
“I’ve been sleeping with long underwear, a couple layers, a down comforter and
all the blankets in the house,” says Daniel Weingart, who lives in the
building at 1114 F St. Northeast.
He claims his personal device showed a temperature reading of 45 degrees —
indoors — early Tuesday morning.
“We’re just trying to stay out of the apartment as much as possible, going out
and staying at work later,” he says. “The night is definitely the hardest
part. The cat was meowing and crying.”
He has called the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs several
times, complaining that the inside temperature does not meet minimum
standards.
According to city code, landlords must maintain a temperature of at least
65 degrees overnight.
The DCRA has made three visits to the apartments since the beginning of the
month and issued one violation notice, according to department records. That
does not necessarily mean a fine is forthcoming.
Wexford Property Management operates the apartments, and acknowledges a
problem with the boiler.
The company has been sending a vendor to the apartments three times per day to
ensure the heating system is working as well as it can. A replacement part is
on the way. In the meantime, the apartments have passed out portable space
heaters.
Weingart says they’re of little comfort. The room temperature is still well
below the regulatory minimum, he maintains.
Shelters have opened around the region for anyone who is at risk of
hypothermia. See the full list on WTOP.com.
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