ROGERS PARK — About 100 seniors awaiting relocation to updated apartments in their CHA-owned building say they've been without a heat for more than a month — leading some to sleep in winter jackets and even use ovens to keep warm.
Residents of the CHA's Caroline Hedger Apartments, at 6400 N. Sheridan Road at the border of Rogers Park and Edgewater, held a press conference inside the building's community center Thursday to air their concerns about the health of those affected by stalled construction in the building.
"We are horrified at the ways seniors have been treated," said Nanna Cross of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus.
Residents are awaiting transfer into 50 renovated units, with two residents in many of the apartments.
Cross said residents are being "forced to sleep in dangerous temps" which is "unacceptable."
Some residents have slept overnight in jackets and sweaters, while others have been using ovens and stove burners to help heat their units.
After residents complained to the city, they were given space heaters, but that's not a realistic solution, the caucus said.
They told the CHA and others the building was still too cold, and some were given additional heaters, while some bought extras on their own.
“Space heaters are a temporary fix that’s maybe appropriate for several days, but CHA has been using them as the sole source of heat for these units for several weeks,“ said Cross.
Resident Peggy Spencer said the seniors are being "mistreated." She and her husband were given two space heaters for their unit, and they've bought another one. But both use walkers and are incontinent, and they are constantly worrying about tripping over cords and getting burned by the heaters. She watches TV in a coat.
"It cannot go on like this.They cannot treat the elderly like this," Spencer said.
Running the heaters has hiked electric bills, which the seniors pay. The Spencers are paying $70 a month.
Molly Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the CHA, said residents can request a third heater if they choose and will be given $100 gift cards to use for electric bill expenses.
Remaining expenses related to heat will be covered by Madison Construction, Sullivan said.
In a statement, the CHA also said property managers performed heating checks twice daily.
"CHA has cooperated with City of Chicago building inspectors who were at the property last week to address heat complaints and found all of the units to be in compliance with city code," Sullivan said.
Lori Clark of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus comforts distraught resident Peggy Spencer in the lobby of the Caroline Hedger Apartments. Spencer's heat does not work. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
The caucus said residents were told by mid-December seniors would be relocated to renovated apartments with working heat, causing many to pack their items.
But as of Thursday, many were still waiting to be placed.
Spencer invited reporters to her unit, however an employee at the building blocked the elevator and told reporters she had orders not to let anyone upstairs.
It was not clear who delivered those orders.
Police were called to the building during the press conference, but later left.
In early December, Cross and others held another press conference before a CHA board meeting to discuss a ground lease on the apartment property for a new Target store and residential development, saying then the heating was a problem for many residents.
The developer behind the Target is also the owner of the construction company currently renovating the seniors' apartments.
Almost two years ago, in January 2015, the building was approved for a $21 million renovation with Madison Construction as the general contractor.
On Thursday, construction signs, thunderous booms, contractors and other inconveniences caused by the construction were evident.
"It's like this all the time here," Spencer said.
Others who have lived in the building also said it was plagued with problems.
Jessie Lee Starr, former resident of five years, described living at the apartment as a "nightmare," including having issues with the in-unit heating.
"I don't think those things hardly even worked," he said while dropping off snacks for his 90-year-old friend Thursday. "They treat these people like dogs."
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