Dozens of residents living at a Pasadena apartment complex said they couldn’t make a Thanksgiving dinner due to heat or hot water for weeks.
William Carpenter lives in one of the Sycamore Gardens Apartment units that doesn’t have running hot water. He said he’s had to boil water for the last four weeks.
“Even to take a bath. The simplistic things,” Carpenter said.
He said there’s been long stretches in the past where the hot water didn’t work.
The boiler connected to his building is broken among other things if you ask other residents like Karen Nollman.
“Yesterday, they turned everybody’s gas off, and now we can’t cook Thanksgiving dinner,” Nollman said. “We can’t do nothing. We tell them about it, and they act like they don’t know.”
A lock could be visible on the CenterPoint Energy gas main connected to the building. Nollman said she’s used to not having heat because it hasn’t worked since she moved in March of 2021.
“When we switched companies, they were supposed to fix it and never did. Now, we have another owner and it’s been going on and on,” she said. “They told us they’re gonna fix stuff and they haven’t.”
An inspector with the Pasadena Health Department visited the property on November 23rd and gave the owners ten days to fix plumbing gas and hot water issues that are not up to code with city ordinance. That deadline is coming this weekend.
The property manager easing wouldn’t talk on camera but told KPRC 2 behind closed doors that they took over the property three months ago and are working to address the issues they inherited from the previous owner.
A plumbing company worked most of Tuesday to remove the previous boiler and replace it with a new one. Jody Chamberlain, a tenant, said a new boiler doesn’t begin to fix the mounting issues at the complex, including squatting.
“I’m happy to see that but we have no gas still. How are we gonna get that? If they don’t pay the bill we don’t have gas. What good’s a boiler?” Chamberlain asked.
The property manager said she didn’t have a timetable for hot water restoration but said she’s also working with the energy company to try to remove the lock on the meter.
The City of Pasadena’s Permit Department issued the following statement:
We are aware of the situation at the Sycamore Gardens apartments. On November 23, 2022 our Assistant Building Official reached out to the listed owner/agent via phone and email, alerting them that they are in violation of several city codes. A notice of violation was also posted on the property. Our records show the most recent permit pulled for 4802 Sycamore was dated October 10, 2022. There have been no inspection requests associated with this permit to date. No other permitting requests have been submitted to our office since then. If the building owner/agent does not contact the city by the date defined on the notice of violation, further action may be taken, subject to penalties as prescribed by law.
We are aware of the situation at the Sycamore Gardens apartments. On November 23, 2022 our Assistant Building Official reached out to the listed owner/agent via phone and email, alerting them that they are in violation of several city codes. A notice of violation was also posted on the property. Our records show the most recent permit pulled for 4802 Sycamore was dated October 10, 2022. There have been no inspection requests associated with this permit to date. No other permitting requests have been submitted to our office since then. If the building owner/agent does not contact the city by the date defined on the notice of violation, further action may be taken, subject to penalties as prescribed by law.