San Fernando Gardens Residents to Receive Relief from Summer Heat with New AC Units and Cool RoofsSan Fernando Gardens Residents to Receive Relief from Summer Heat with New AC Units and Cool Roofs Congressman Tony Cárdenas and other dignitaries announced $3.6 million in Community Project Funding for the San Fernando Gardens apartment complex in Pacoima on Friday, July 19, 2024. The funding will provide 448 energy-efficient AC units and cool roofs to the complex’s 1,479 residents. The housing project was built in 1955 without modern apartment cooling systems, leaving residents vulnerable to the scorching summer heat. Clara Osorio, a resident of Pacoima, has lived in the complex for 14 years and has struggled with the intense heat. “This project is a very important turning point in our lives,” said Mauda Ruiz, a resident of San Fernando Gardens for 12 years. “It’s not about comfort. It’s about basic quality of life.” Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley, grew up near San Fernando Gardens and emphasized the importance of protecting vulnerable communities from heat-related health conditions. The installation of AC units and cool roofs is scheduled for completion in early 2025. Residents are grateful for the improvements, but some expressed a wish for a faster timeline. “They need to do it faster,” said Martin Pinera, a resident of San Fernando Gardens. “It’s already July and opening the window is just not enough for my grandson or me.” Congressman Cárdenas emphasized the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to dignified living conditions, regardless of their income level.
Congressman Tony Cárdenas and dignitaries pose for a photo after Cárdenas announced $3,573,240 in Community Project Funding for the San Fernando Gardens apartment complex in Pacoima during a press conference on Friday, July 19, 2024, in San Fernando Gardens. The funding will provide 448 energy-efficient AC units to help the 1,479 residents. The money will pay for the installation of energy-efficient air conditioning units and cool roofs and provide 448 energy-efficient AC units to help the 1,479 residents escape the heat. The housing project was built in 1955 without modern apartment cooling systems. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Clara Osorio, a resident of Pacoima, is hit by the stifling heat every summer and without air conditioning, her apartment in the San Fernando Gardens complex offers little relief.
Osorio, a single mother who lives with her two children and two grandchildren, said the intense heat “is very difficult, and it has gotten worse in the 14 years I’ve lived here.”
Osorio’s story is familiar to the 1,479 residents of San Fernando Gardens, a public housing complex in Pacoima where summer temperatures can soar into the triple digits. But $3.6 million in new funding for community projects secured by Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Panorama City, means Osorio and her neighbors will get some relief from the scorching summer heat — in the form of 448 energy-efficient AC units and new, eco-friendly roofing.
“People deserve to live in dignity and deserve the respect and appreciation of all of us who send our tax dollars to Washington,” Cárdenas said.
Cárdenas announced the funding on Friday, July 19, which will help support the population of the San Fernando Gardens complex, about 20 percent of which is made up of infants and seniors.
The San Fernando Gardens complex, built in 1955, wasn’t built to withstand record-breaking heat waves caused by climate change and the ongoing strain on the power grid. Local lawmakers said air-conditioning and rooftop installations, which have already begun and are scheduled for completion in early 2025, are a step toward changing that.
Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley, who grew up a few minutes’ drive down the street from San Fernando Gardens, said, “Our most vulnerable communities are at risk for heat-related health conditions,” adding, “This funding goes to our community.”
San Fernando Gardens resident Martin Pinera said he is “happy with the project” but wishes it had come sooner.
“They need to do it faster,” Pinera said. “It’s already July and opening the window is just not enough for my grandson or me.”
Mauda Ruiz, a resident of San Fernando Gardens for 12 years, said: “Living in social housing has its challenges, especially in the summer.”
“This project is a very important turning point in our lives,” Ruiz said. “It’s not about comfort. It’s about basic quality of life.”
