Vanderbilt Apartments
Dublin Core
Title
Vanderbilt Apartments
Description
WLOS-TV news footage about elderly residents of Vanderbilt Apartments in downtown Asheville struggling to obtain water to flush toilets. Reporting also briefly covers residents accessing Wi-Fi from Pack Memorial Library next door. Gracee Mattiace reporting.
Creator
Publisher
Date
Rights
Copyright Sinclair, Inc.
Format
Language
English
Extent
1 digital video recording (01:31)
Moving Image Item Type Metadata
Duration
1:31
Transcription
Gracee Mattiace:
Hundreds of elderly and disabled folks relying on neighborly help to get just a bit of water to flush their toilets. We spoke to some residents who say they feel like they've been left to fend for themselves. This man is doing what he can to help. He's hauling buckets of water from the dumpster below the apartment building up to residents' rooms.
Resident 1:
The water's out, thank goodness. Very nice neighbor of mine came up with a half a five gallon bucket, about two gallons of water, and got the commode flush down. So that was very helpful.
Gracee Mattiace:
The city of Asheville says there's extensive damage to the water system, and restoring it could take weeks. Residents at Vanderbilt Place tell us the building has nine floors and roughly 126 units in total. Even more people living in similar conditions in the housing units at Battery Park, according to folks we spoke to. Some of the residents have mental and physical disabilities. They haven't had access to water since early Friday. What have you heard from the management?
Resident 2:
I hadn't heard anything from them yet. I don't know whether anybody else have heard anything.
Gracee Mattiace:
Other people outside of the building crowding around the library on Haywood Street, a free Wi-Fi zone meaning a brief connection to the outside world. We've tried to get in touch with city officials and management of the building to ask them some questions, but haven't been able to get in contact with anyone due to lack of cell service. In Asheville, Gracee Mattiace, News 13.
Hundreds of elderly and disabled folks relying on neighborly help to get just a bit of water to flush their toilets. We spoke to some residents who say they feel like they've been left to fend for themselves. This man is doing what he can to help. He's hauling buckets of water from the dumpster below the apartment building up to residents' rooms.
Resident 1:
The water's out, thank goodness. Very nice neighbor of mine came up with a half a five gallon bucket, about two gallons of water, and got the commode flush down. So that was very helpful.
Gracee Mattiace:
The city of Asheville says there's extensive damage to the water system, and restoring it could take weeks. Residents at Vanderbilt Place tell us the building has nine floors and roughly 126 units in total. Even more people living in similar conditions in the housing units at Battery Park, according to folks we spoke to. Some of the residents have mental and physical disabilities. They haven't had access to water since early Friday. What have you heard from the management?
Resident 2:
I hadn't heard anything from them yet. I don't know whether anybody else have heard anything.
Gracee Mattiace:
Other people outside of the building crowding around the library on Haywood Street, a free Wi-Fi zone meaning a brief connection to the outside world. We've tried to get in touch with city officials and management of the building to ask them some questions, but haven't been able to get in contact with anyone due to lack of cell service. In Asheville, Gracee Mattiace, News 13.
Collection
Tags
Citation
WLOS-TV Asheville, “Vanderbilt Apartments,” Come Hell or High Water Community Memory Project, accessed October 12, 2026, https://helenehistory.omeka.net/items/show/1413.