Apartment Residents Heat Up Over AC Removal

"BRATTLEBORO — The outside temperature has dropped significantly in the last two weeks, but it's still hot in the Samuel Elliot High Rise, and it's not just a thermometer reading.

"I have lived here for 15 years and for 14 of those years I have had an in-window air-conditioning unit," said Judith Ressler.

Recently, the Brattleboro Housing Partnership, which owns and manages the 62-unit apartment building on Elliot Street, removed the in-window units.

"They want us to get floor models," said Ressler.

"It's unfair," said Elizabeth Snyder, who has collected a petition with 34 signatures requesting the return of their in-window units. "We had a meeting eight months ago and we were told floor units cost $100 but they're anywhere between $260 and $450 each."

Snyder and Ressler said they were told the reason the units had to be removed was because they were dripping and causing damage to lower apartments. They were also told they had no choice when maintenance workers came around and removed the in-window units.

"They didn't give us a choice," said Snyder. Residents were also told BHP would charge $20 to install the ductwork for the floor models, she said.

"The old units leaked because they weren't put in properly," said Snyder, adding she wouldn't mind paying $20 to re-install her in-window unit because "It moves the air around better than a floor model. Those don't do the job."

"We are the elderly, the disabled, the poor and the retired," said Ressler. "We don't have the money to buy floor models."

Ressler said during the heat wave that saw temperatures approaching 100 degrees, some non-air-conditioned rooms reached 95 degrees..."

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