Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (at podium) speaks July 6 during a press conference at Sarkis Towers, where seniors lost power for four days following a July 3 storm.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Local elected officials and others gathered July 6 at St. Sarkis Towers, 19230 Ford Road, to criticize DTE’s slow response time to power outages caused by the July 3 storms.
The senior high-rise went four days without electricity, which meant residents with limited mobility had no elevator access.
The power was restored shortly before the press conference.
Residents lost refrigeration, leading to food and medicine spoiling while they were stuck in their apartments without air conditioning during a heat wave.
Focus was placed on the importance of holding DTE accountable for its response time to electrical power restoration, which was said to disproportionately affect seniors and people with disabilities.
Hammoud said leaving seniors for four days without power is unacceptable.
“This is a building full of seniors, many of whom are among our most vulnerable residents,” he said. “For four days they endured extreme heat, no power, no running water, and for some, no ability to leave their homes.”
Hammoud called the $42 reimbursement offered by DTE “an insult.”
“DTE owes these residents answers,” he said. “How does a senior housing facility remain without power for four days, and why wasn’t it treated as a top priority?”
Hammoud said the Michigan Public Service Commission must also act.
“Our seniors deserve better,” he said. “We shouldn’t stop asking questions until they get the answers they deserve.”
Residents at St. Sarkis Towers at 19230 Ford Road in Dearborn, lost electrical power for four days following a July 3 storm.