NORTHAMPTON — A safety rule forbidding the use of window air conditioners at McDonald House is still generating resentment from some residents at the public housing development, despite the efforts of the Northampton Housing Authority to mitigate the issue.
“This should have never changed,” said McDonald House tenant Warren Douglass.
On May 2, the authority sent out a letter saying that it would no longer be installing or removing air conditioners. The letter also said that window air conditioners would not be allowed at McDonald House and that only portable air conditioners would be allowed there.
In a clarification memo sent that day, it was explained that McDonald House is a seven-story high-rise apartment building, and that a falling air conditioner could injure or kill someone. The letter also said that it posed an issue with the authority’s general liability and workmen’s compensation carriers.
“There are sidewalks underneath these windows,” said Cara Clifford, executive director of the Northampton Housing Authority.
While this also applies to the Walter Salvo House, all units there are equipped with AC sleeves, which are dedicated spaces for air conditioning units built into an apartment. At McDonald House, only the handicapped units have AC sleeves.
The letter also promised a solution for the financial hardship of purchasing a portable air conditioner and the next day a third letter was sent out, saying that each resident who purchased a portable air conditioner would be eligible for a $100 credit toward their rent.
So far, 19 residents have taken advantage of the credit.
A letter was sent out last Thursday saying that the credits are still available. It also said that air conditioners had been purchased that residents could buy for $200 or for eight payments of $25.
Clifford said that no one had taken advantage of purchasing air conditioners on the payment plan yet.
Douglass, who has been a tenant at the McDonald House for eight years, noted that some people bought their window air conditioners brand-new last year. He also said he had no intention of purchasing one of the portable air conditioners.
“It’s $200 I don’t have,” he said. “This is low-income right here.”
Douglass also said that he’d heard bad things from people who’d gotten portable air conditioners in the building.
Jude Sidney, who has been a tenant at McDonald House for five years, has an AC sleeve in her handicapped apartment. However, she said she still cares about the issue because she’s concerned about her neighbors.
“Some of us are quite elderly,” Sidney said.
She also expressed concern with the mobile units being able to cool an apartment, and questioned why the Housing Authority was making decisions on people’s air conditioning.
“Why are they involved in the type of air conditioner that we have?” Sidney asked. “What changed?”
A number of other residents also expressed opposition to the safety rule and objections to its implementation, but declined to speak on the record. One of these residents cited the medical conditions that some residents have, while another noted the animals living in the building. A third resident said that the letter announcing the safety rule should have been sent out months before.
Sidney and an anonymous resident also noted the good work that the housing authority does.
“There’s a whole bunch of stuff that they do that’s great,” said Sidney.
Clifford said that although change is difficult, the authority is willing to sit down with anyone and come up with a solution.
“We do care about our residents,” she said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@Gazettenet.com.