HYATTSVILLE, Md. — College students and other residents of Vie Towers, an apartment complex in Hyattsville, were sent to bed without a water supply on Sunday, because of a power outage caused by a storm. The following day, they returned from classes without electricity in the hallways and stairways. As time went by, waiting for water and electricity to return, the city of Hyattsville posted an order to vacate the building.
These issues have not only disrupted their daily lives, but also their ability to attend classes, study and complete homework. Vie Towers has experienced hot water outages throughout the semesters, but this is the first time two issues have affected the building simultaneously.
Both the North and South Towers have 16 floors, so some students have had to walk up and down stairs in the dark, using flashlights and their phone lights for navigation.
Senior Kiera Buckley said she and other Howard University residents contacted Hyattsville’s Office of Code Compliance, which led to the vacate order being issued Monday morning.
Buckley said she noticed that the water coming from her sink on Sunday evening had turned into a small stream and then suddenly turned off completely. She said she had not been able to flush her toilet since Monday morning.
Residents also reported pitch-dark hallways, no WiFi and no access to elevators.
Buckley said these issues have impacted her daily life significantly. She has had to walk up 14 flights of stairs to reach her room while carrying two gallons of water.
“My heart was beating. My head was hurting,” she said. “I haven’t been able to shower in order to go to school.”
Morgan Smith, a Howard sophomore majoring in environmental science and fashion design, lives on the 16th floor and has a concussion, so she needs assistance getting down the stairs.
“I’ve just been disappointed with the … lack of preparation for those needing accessibility options,” Smith said. “With me having a traumatic brain injury, I’m confined.
“When I tried to open the door to go down the stairwell, it just flashed like crazy,” she explained. “It immediately triggered my concussion system. So I’m not even able to get down a flight of stairs, and I’m on the 16th floor, so I was stuck.”
Cindy Zork, communications manager for the city of Hyattsville, said her office became aware of the issues at Vie after residents spoke out at Monday’s City Council meeting and residents sent multiple emails.
“The biggest concern was the water supply,” Zork said. “It was affecting the hot water and also some of the water pressure in the building, and then the elevator issue, being that it’s no longer ADA accessible.”
Zork said the vacate order served as an alert to the residents that the building no longer meets the city’s code, but that the city can’t force people to leave the building.
“They do want residents to be aware that the building is no longer safe for habitation, per the city’s code,” Zork said. “And the order is also there as incentive for the property manager to resolve the issues in a timely manner.”
According to Zork, the inspectors will be back to inspect every day until the issues are resolved and property management will also receive a $500 fine each day.
Alesha Cesar, a senior broadcast major at Howard, expressed frustrationover her living situation. “It’s unbearable,” she said. “I’m paying so much money … and to see that this amount of money is not meeting the standards of this living space is bizarre. It makes me question, ‘What am I investing the roof over my head into.’”
Vie Management emailed residents on Monday, stating, “First and foremost, we want to thank you for your patience as we work through the challenges caused by an unforeseen power surge in our building’s main electrical panel.”
Despite the challenges, students have sought alternatives. Some students have reached out to local gyms and apartment buildings for help, such as Planet Fitness and The View, respectively. These establishments have offered their showers to Howard students showing their school IDs at the front desk.
However, when some students called Planet Fitness on Monday to use the showers, they were met with disappointment. Despite explaining their situation, they were only offered a gym tour without access to the showers, which added to the students’ frustration and disappointment.
In order to take showers, some students purchased temporary memberships or stayed the night at hotels.
Chelsea Stephens, a Howard post-baccalaureate student, paid $60 for a Planet Fitness gym membership to shower Monday night.
“I bought a gym membership next door just to take a shower,” Stephens said. “I’ve had to come up and down the stairs just to wash my hands, brush my teeth, wash my face and things like that.”
Vie Towers has provided water bottles and gallons of water for residents. Security Guards have been going from floor to floor in the dark stairwell with cases of water for residents.
Students have united in their efforts to address these issues. In addition to going to the Hyattsville City Council, they have taken collective action by starting a petition and leaving bad Google reviews.
Seriah P, a Vie Towers resident, wrote on Google reviews: “Constantly too many things wrong with this building, and they don’t treat us like we are people, and it’s dehumanizing as students who already have too much going on. Currently blaming a breaker shortage from a storm for the reason we haven’t had water in over 24 hours when the water has been out since 1 p.m. is insane!”
According to Howard sophomore Morgan Smith, the Hyattsville City Council’s response to the issue was that “they can’t magically turn the water back on; they can issue citations.”
The water in the upper-level students’ apartments was defective, but the water in the downstairs bathroom is functional. Students have to walk downstairs to wash their hands and use the bathroom.
Despite the downstairs bathroom working, students living on the upper floors have used the restroom without flushable toilets, causing their rooms to stink, because they have been using the restroom in paper bags and throwing them in the trash.
“I’m seeing students in the group chat about their floors and rooms smelling like urine from feces, because we can’t flush our toilets,” Smith said. “Then some students have to urinate [in] trash bags and throw [them] down the trash shoots on our floor because there’s an inability to use the bathroom.”
According to Howard University’s Office of Communications, the university has a lease agreement with Vie Towers building management for residential space for 45 Howard students. The university is aware of the challenges at Vie Towers and is in close communication with the apartment complex.
In a written statement to HU News Service, the office said, “Howard’s Student Affairs team has been in continuous communication with the property management company and is currently on site to coordinate support services for Howard University students, including alternative housing if needed.”
The office said they will remain on site to provide necessary assistance to students until Vie Towers manages to restore all services.
A generator arrived on Tuesday to restore water and power. Due to this inconvenience, Vie has sent an email stating that it will compensate residents by taking $300 off their rent for the month.
Vie Management had also been providing food each day of the week to residents, such as lunch on Wednesday, dinner on Thursday and breakfast on Friday.
However, students are not satisfied with $300 in compensation. Howard student Morgan Joiner started a petition on Monday for “rent reimbursement due to ongoing maintenance issues.”
The petition, which had over 200 signatures, requested “one month’s rent as compensation for the inconvenience and hardship caused to the tenants.”
After receiving the petition, Vie Management sent an email stating that it would be “providing a $200 gift card to each resident” that should arrive in two to three weeks.
Students have scheduled meetings on March 24 and April 4 in attempts to break their leases.
Brianna Solano, a junior biology major at Howard, wants Vie management to give the $300 to the students directly and not add it to their accounts.
“They could have given the $300 to the students directly so they can get hotels or something like that,” Solano said. “Y’all are creating so much mental distress on these students. We’re already full-time college students as it is.”
Christion Billy and Camiryn Stepteau are reporters for HUNewsService.com.
