Students living in the on-campus Eastchester apartments have battled some unsatisfactory living conditions this year..

Director of Residential Life Michael Labella sent out an email on Feb. 20 to all Eastchester residents in buildings 766, 8, 10, and 20 reminding them that if they are not content with their current living situation, they can move to another available room somewhere else at no additional cost or expense.

“We have been in contact with the company that owns the building from the beginning and thankfully we have not experienced any issues for quite some time now,” said Labella in an interview. “No one has taken advantage of the option to move due to these issues.”

The school has provided a solution for any student still experiencing problems who don’t want to deal with the issues anymore, which is already a standard across every residence hall regarding less-than-desirable living conditions.

According to the email from Labella, Iona College leases the apartment buildings from Platzner International Group, so the school has no legal right to make any renovations or improvements, let alone repair already broken utilities.

If residents of any room are content with their current living situation, they are able to stay in the room they already occupy, said Labella.

Junior Dante Butler, a resident assistant in Eastchester 8, said that resident assistants in each building were sent to their residents to ask each to sign a document stating that they are aware that Iona has no ability to repair or prevent any problems that may occur within these rooms, and that the option to be relocated is always available.

Residents have complained to Butler.

“There are constant heat and hot water problems,” said Butler. “Some rooms have toilets that clog constantly…the rooms just seem very out dated in general. Many of my residents have been dealing with these problems since the beginning of the spring semester, and it’s unacceptable.”

Butler recounted one instance from the beginning of this semester.

“I got numerous calls from professional staff members persistently asking whether or not certain apartments had heat and hot water,” said Butler. “Some did, some did not. I had to check the apartments that had heat and hot water, as well as air conditioners that could be causing a draft in the room, then report back to my supervisor. Once I was notified that these issues were fixed, I went back to every room to ensure that these problems were taken care of.”

Some students have been deterred from the option to move out of fear that their already established group within the apartment would have to be split up into separate rooms, or put into an already existing group, as there’s no guarantee that available living space would comfortably house the exact number of residents in a given room.

Junior Brian France, who lives in Eastchester Building 10, has been experiencing some of the more common and frustrating issues that some Eastchester residents have complained about this year.

“There hasn’t consistently been hot water in our shower since December,” said France. “I don’t think I’ve taken a hot shower here since December. The heat comes on and off randomly, too, which can get really annoying.”

France also mentioned that he and his roommates have reported these issues to their RA, with the most recent time being roughly three weeks ago. They say they have not received assistance or seen improvements with the matter yet.

Any students who are having problems with their on-campus living situation can talk to their RA and the Office of Residential Life.