After power outage, Passaic apartment complex will be demolished. But that's not the end

PASSAIC — The three-day loss of electricity at the city's Speer Village apartment complex during last week's heat wave is a symptom of a much bigger problem.

A transformer issue combined with old wiring left the 1,200 residents of the State Street public housing facility without electricity and air conditioning from June 22-24 as temperatures soared into the mid-90s. Residents sought relief from the heat in the village's outdoor areas, cooling centers and air-conditioned vehicles.

City officials and those from the Housing Authority said a permanent solution is already in the works, which includes demolishing and replacing the 71-year-old housing complex.

Why did Speer Village apartments lose electricity during heat wave?

Power was lost at 10 p.m. Saturday in 380 apartments. Two of the six buildings had power restored the following day with an emergency generator, however, the rest remained without power until late on Monday.

Aushea Asbell, who has lived in Speer Village her entire life, said she's had enough of the issues, even though her power only went out intermittently. She said her apartment served as a charging center for neighbors' electronics and a place for her daughter's friends to "sit in the air conditioning" and play video games.

PSE&G responded to the complex and replaced a transformer, however, it took some trial and error to fully restore power. Ultimately, electricians were brought in to see which circuits needed repair, Mayor Hector Lora said.

"It's not clear whether the old wiring caused the transformer to blow or the transformer caused the wiring to fail," Lora said.

"While we got a new transformer and cable and fixed some of the wiring problems, the root causes still remain," Lora said. "What's needed are new buildings for the hard-working families that live here."

Passaic's Speer Village is aging

Speer Village opened in 1953, according to a report in the Herald News.

"It was a project, meaning that it was not built to last forever," Lora said, adding the complex has reached the age when things are wearing out.

The elevators break down often, the wiring and most other things, including security doors, are old and the common areas need lots of repairs, Lora said.

Daniel Rodriguez, chair of the Speer Village Board of Commissioners, said the cause of the power outage is not fully known, but it's "100% certain that the buildings are antiquated."

"It is a strong indication that it's time" for something better, Rodriguez said.

Much of the equipment is old, he said, adding it makes it tougher to maintain.

"When the elevators break down, it can take a while to find the part they need," Rodriguez said.

Asbell said it's the same with the security doors. When they break it takes a long time to get them fixed. She said security is a joke and homeless people are often found sleeping or urinating in the building.

All of the issues are the reason Asbell is considering leaving Speer Village for good.

After the power was restored she went to visit her brother in Pennsylvania to get away from the noise and to give her son, who in 2023 was shot while outside the housing complex, a break.

The former beautician said she has to focus on taking care of her children.

Passaic's plan to replace Speer Village

The plan, Lora said, is to rebuild Speer Village in what he said will be a private and public partnership.

The plan is to systematically demolish the apartment buildings and rebuild them, starting with the administrative offices. The plan calls for replacing it with a mixed-use building with retail on the main level and housing above it.

Once completed, tenants can move into the new building and the rest of the apartment buildings can be completed. Each will be torn down and rebuilt. Lora said the 380 apartments will be replaced and tenants will have new homes.

"No one is being forced out," the mayor said.

He said he hopes 120 additional apartments will be created in the process for the city's workforce tenants. He said they are the ones with pretty good jobs but not enough equity to buy their own homes. He expects the project to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is not a good idea to cram together those most economically challenged into public housing, he said. "It's never been shown to work."

The timeline is still a bit up in the air, but it's closer to the end than the beginning, Lora said. Lora said he went to Washington, D.C. to meet with Housing and Urban Development people, who are backing the new facility.

"It's a marathon, but we can see the finish line," Lora said.

The history of Passaic's public housing Speer Village

The Passaic Housing Authority was created by the City of Passaic in 1945 to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for its citizens. After World War II, affordable housing was scarce and the need was great.

The first developments, Vreeland Village and Speer Village, were completed and ready for residents in the summer of 1953. The initial complexes, news accounts reported, cost just over $5 million.

The high rises that comprise Speer Village were named after Passaic's founder Albert Speer. According to a Sept. 25, 1953 Herald News story, Speer gave Passaic its name in 1854, changing it from Acquackanonk.

Speer published Passaic's first newspaper "The Item" and believed strongly in accepting all people from all nations and races to live in harmony. In 1870, he fervently spoke out when Passaic's Board of Education proposed segregating its schools, pushing for all children to be educated together.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: After power outage, Passaic apartment complex will be demolished. But that's not the end