A New York State-run facility for people with developmental disabilities has gone nearly three years without working air conditioning \u2014 leaving vulnerable residents and state workers enduring what a union boss called \u201coppressive heat\u201d inside the aging Adirondacks institution, a union said.<\/p>\n
Sunmount Developmental Center in Tupper Lake, which is operated by the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities<\/a>, has been struggling with a failed cooling system even as summer heat pushed local temperatures into the upper 80s and low 90s, with heat index values reaching into the 90s.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not an emergency at this time, but it is a serious, ongoing priority that demands immediate attention,\u201d Public Employees Federation President Wayne Spence wrote Thursday in a letter to state Director of Operations Jackie Bray.<\/p>\n The state-run Sunmount Developmental Center in Tupper Lake has been without functioning central air conditioning for nearly three years, according to union officials. Google Maps<\/p>\n \u201cI personally toured the facility (Wednesday) and experienced the oppressive heat that both staff and residents, who are a vulnerable population, face,\u201d Spence wrote.<\/p>\n The Times Union first reported the letter<\/a>, which was confirmed to The Post by the union and which was sent during a statewide heat wave that sent temperatures in parts of New York closer to 100 degrees.<\/p>\n In Franklin County, where Sunmount is located, local readings remained below triple digits but still produced dangerous heat conditions for residents housed in a facility without functioning central air.<\/p>\n Sunmount serves adults with developmental disabilities, including autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Many residents have complex behavioral, psychiatric and medical needs.<\/p>\n Sunmount\u2019s broken cooling system has left residents and staff coping with summer temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s, with heat index values climbing into the 90s. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n \u201cThese are some of New York\u2019s most vulnerable individuals \u2014 people with developmental disabilities who depend on the state to provide safe, humane, and dignified living conditions,\u201d Spence wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unacceptable that a critical infrastructure issue affecting the health, comfort, and quality of life of these residents has remained unresolved for so long,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Extreme heat across New York has intensified concerns over conditions at Sunmount. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n OPWDD spokeswoman Jennifer O\u2019Sullivan told The Post that the agency \u201chas been working to fix issues where central air conditioning is failing or is not feasible on the Sunmount campus due to aging infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProgramming in the affected areas has been adjusted to take place in cooler spaces during this heat wave and interim portable units are being installed as we work to resolve this issue,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Dr. Ilana Slaff-Galatan, a certified psychiatrist who completed an autism fellowship with the American Psychiatric Association, warned that the heat poses special risks for Sunmount residents, including seizures.<\/p>\n She also warned that psychiatric medications can interfere with the body\u2019s ability to regulate heat and respond to dehydration.<\/p>\n Triple-digit temperatures hit parts of downstate New York during the heat wave. One New Yorker was seen frying an egg in the sun on Friday. ZUMAPRESS.com<\/p>\n The air-conditioning crisis is the latest black eye for Sunmount, which has long been dogged by allegations of abuse<\/a>, neglect, falsified records, staffing strain and poor oversight.<\/p>\n Public reports over the past decade<\/a> have detailed repeated criminal cases involving Sunmount employees accused of assaulting residents<\/a>, covering up incidents or falsifying paperwork.<\/p>\n Spence urged Bray to explain \u201cwhy this problem has persisted for years, what steps have been taken to address it, and, most importantly, when residents and staff can expect a permanent solution.\u201d<\/p>\n The Post has sought comment from Bray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A New York State-run facility for people with developmental disabilities has gone nearly three years without working air…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2312,24789,4241,426,57,9,11,10,49,51,50,11304,58],"class_list":["post-287375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-adirondacks","tag-air-conditioning","tag-albany","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-summer","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}