Residents of chilly Schuylerville apartment building eagerly await new boiler

SCHUYLERVILLE – Nearly 20 people who live in a Schuylerville apartment complex have been promised a new boiler for weeks now.

They haven’t had proper heat for three weeks, but the shipment keeps getting delayed.

The boiler was supposed to come in Monday, after being delayed for days.

It is, but it wasn’t installed Monday like the residents were previously told. That meant residents would have to put up with another night of freezing temperatures.

The attorney representing the management team there says they were told by the manufacturer of the new boiler that it will arrive Monday night at a destination facility in Glenmont.

The plan is that maintenance will go pick it up Tuesday and install it then.

The nearly 20 people at the apartment complex have gone weeks without a reliable heat source.

Their management has given them all space heaters for the time being, but a resident tells NewsChannel 13 it takes them two hours to make their apartment warm enough.

Another resident explained that he has to check the current boiler every 20 to 40 minutes to make sure it’s working properly, or it could shut off.

A caseworker for Saratoga County Department of Social Services has come out to check on the residents, and keeping consistent contact with them – even continuously offering alternative housing.

However, we’re told the residents have not taken up the offer.

As 13 Investigates has been reporting, residents claimed they were told they would be evicted if they spoke up.
However, we found out there would be no retaliation from management if they talked on camera about the troubles they’re going through.

13 Investigates spoke on the phone Monday with two relatives who have their aunt and mother living in this building.

They say a lot of the residents are still scared of retaliation. They don’t trust that they won’t face consequences for talking.

We also asked these family members why their two relatives continue to stay there. Why not just take them to their home until this problem gets fixed?

They told us their two relatives are set in their ways. They’ve been there for years and don’t want to leave, no matter what’s happening.