19-03-2025
Student apartment building in Hyattsville deemed ‘unfit for human habitation'
HYATTSVILLE, Md. () — An apartment building in Hyattsville that is home to students from area colleges is in hot water. It's been days since Vie Towers has had water or electricity that powers elevators, among other things.
The City of Hyattsville said students should find other places to stay, calling the building 'unfit for human habitation,' and threatening $500 fines each day the building does not meet city code.
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Students who live there, many of whom attend Howard University but some of whom attend the University of Maryland, told DC News Now their latest commutes to class begins with dozens of flights of stairs.
The stairwell has a flickering light that Nijile Young, who lives there, said 'looks kind of crazy.'
'It's very inconvenient especially if you're trying to catch a shuttle to class,' the Howard University student said. 'I really need them to fix the problem because I can't keep commuting to campus just to find somewhere to take a shower or use a bathroom.'
A spokesperson for the city told DC News Now the building's management is aware of the problems and working to fix them.
The city will send inspectors to the building on Wednesday to see the work that has been done.
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In the meantime, Howard University student Miles Franklin and his girlfriend packed up and left for a hotel.
'I'm just paying for it because I have to,' he said. 'I need somewhere to take a shower. I mean, the electricity is not working. The Wi-Fi is not on, so I can't do my schoolwork.'
David Henderson, who's in town on his spring break visiting his girlfriend, said more needs to be done.'The fact that they haven't at least given us shelter in a different hotel or something like that is really disappointing,' he said.
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The city is not mandating anyone leave the building, just suggesting if they can find alternative housing, they should.
DC News Now reached out to Vie Towers management to ask about the progress of their work but did not hear back in time for publication.
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