Local

Tenants at Lyon Building in Downtown Seattle claim no heat for weeks, rough conditions

Seattle, WA. – Tenants at the Lyon Building on Third Avenue and James Street in Seattle are claiming the entire building has been without working heat for weeks as temperatures continue to drop in our area.

The Lyon Building is one of 14 housing sites operated by the Downtown Emergency Services Center, or DESC. KIRO 7 got an inside look at some of the units inside. The heaters inside some units were still not working, while other units were having water issues as well.

Eric Brewitt reached out to KIRO 7 about the heating issues and says he has been using an air fryer/toaster oven to keep his place heated. He says no one should be living in conditions like this.

“I like my shelter. I like a roof over my head, but to be honest with you after last night, I would’ve been warmer sleeping in my tent than it was here,” Brewitt said.

Brewitt isn’t the only one with heating issues. Donna Everitt says she has lived at the Lyon Building for 15 years. She says at first, things were great, but changes in management and the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse.

“Care about us better than you do. They don’t give a rat’s a** about humans. They don’t. They don’t care about us at all,” Everitt said.

Some like Chris Smith, who just got his heat back on, says he hasn’t had running water for the past two weeks as well.

“You put in toilet paper. Light it on fire. And it heats the whole room,” Smith said.

DESC had this to say in response:

“We take these kinds of issues very seriously. The building-wide heating system was turned on a few weeks ago for the season. Program staff have been actively checking and troubleshooting radiators over the last month. They are repairing individual radiators as reported and needed, but we have no indication of building-wide heating problems at the Lyon.

In addition we always provide space heaters for tenants if they want them, and we offer blankets for tenants who want higher temperatures than the system can provide.

Our staff have been aware of the water issue and have been working to resolve it.”

Brewitt and other tenants say if nothing changes, they will look elsewhere.

“Pretty much nobody is going to be paying rent in this building until repairs are made,” Brewitt said.

“I can go back on the street. It’s not that big of a deal, but they better not. I’ll get a lawyer,” Smith said.