No relief for mother, newborn as apartment AC goes out again

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — For a few days in August, Mairelys Suarez was cool as a cucumber. The air conditioning in her east Las Vegas apartment was working well for the first time in weeks, and she was just about to give birth to a little girl.

Her landlord had taken out the portable air conditioner that was temporarily taking up space but not cooling her apartment and repaired (or perhaps replaced)  the central air unit that had stopped working in July.

But when she gave birth to her second child, Karol, she came home to a hot apartment. The 8 News Now Investigators – on a third trip to Suarez’s apartment at the Toscana Villas – confirmed that the air conditioner blows hot air, or no air whatsoever. Suarez said she and Karol can barely sleep through the night and that they’ve gotten no response to the complaint they made Monday.

“It’s hot again,” Suarez said, bouncing a dozing Karol on her lap. “I call the manager, and nothing.”

Two phone calls and an email to the management company, Westland Real Estate Group of Long Beach, Calif., went unanswered prior to publication.

On Tuesday’s visit to Suarez’s unit, it was 90 degrees outdoors, and 84 degrees indoors. Recent weather events have lowered the average temperatures in the valley, providing Suarez and her family some measure of relief from the triple-digit norms.

“It’s bad,” Suarez said.

On Aug. 7, after the 8 News Now Investigators’ first report of multiple units without air conditioning – including a terminally-ill father and son who have since moved out – Westland provided a statement, which reads:

“The Toscana Villa apartments are committed to providing comfortable, affordable, clean environments for its residents. While we try to avoid it as much as possible, maintenance issues with air conditioning units do occur during the summer months. When that happens, we respond promptly. We are aware of the two units identified by 8 NewsNow that have air conditioning issues. In both cases, the Toscana Villa Apartments worked quickly, first to attempt to repair the units and then to order a replacement. In the meanwhile, both tenants were supplied with temporary, portable units. We anticipate that permanent replacement units will be installed shortly, possibly as soon as today. As always, the security, health and comfort of our residents is our first priority.”