KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Residents of the North Lawn Apartments in Kansas City, Missouri, said they are still living without electricity and air conditioning, and dealing with sewer flooding nearly three weeks after the city passed an emergency ordinance to address the conditions.
Tenant Amy Skiles does more than just live at North Lawn Apartments.
On any given day, she is making repairs and even mowing the grass.
"I took the time and mowed it yesterday with the help of the union group coming together to get us a lawn mower and a weed eater," Skiles said. "We shouldn't have to live in these conditions for $1,200 a month.”
Tenant Paula Talley has lived at North Lawn for two years, along with her daughter.
She said sewer flooding, electrical outages and no air conditioning are just a few of the issues residents have battled for weeks.
Talley said she was told residents would be placed in a hotel while repairs were made, but hasn't heard anything since.
"They actually came through my apartment and they looked at everything and evaluated everything, but I haven't heard from them since," Talley said. "I see them making it sound good, but there's no action. I haven't seen any action.”
The Kansas City Council voted 11-1 to pass an emergency ordinance allowing up to $500,000 from the city's Housing Trust Fund for repairs at 135 N. Lawn Ave., 132 N. Lawn Ave. and 148 N. Lawn Ave.
The ordinance directed the city manager to inspect the properties within two days and issue any required emergency orders within two days after that.
The apartment buildings have not officially been condemned, but residents said conditions are difficult to live in.
KSHB 41’s Isabella Ledonne was at the complex in early July after receiving a tip from residents, who said the city told them to evacuate in 24 hours.
KC Tenants organizer Mary Allison Joseph said the situation has deeper roots.
She said organizing at North Lawn goes back to January 2023, when heat went out during the coldest weekend that winter.
When the building was sold to Wiser KC LLC — owned by Yisroel Levovitz, based in Chicago — tenants received nonrenewal notices and rent hikes of up to 300%.
A tenant union formed, eventually securing a negotiated agreement that included renovations, rent subsidies and two-year leases. Those leases expired in August 2025.
Tenants won a six-month extension, but by February, Levovitz was again pushing rent increases, Joseph said.
She added that he never completed the promised renovations and rent is now $1,200 a month for some residents.
There are about 30 people across all three buildings and the units are operating below full capacity, according to Joseph. She added that one building is completely vacant.
In June, Joseph said Levovitz flew in from Chicago to negotiate with the tenant union, resulting in a signed tentative agreement that included rent caps, a repair timeline and right of first refusal on any sale.
Since then, Joseph said he has backed away and is now selling his Kansas City properties.
"In the absence of a landlord willing to negotiate, tenants have called on the city to step up because this landlord received city funds in exchange for a contract that he violated," Joseph said.
The property manager, Northland Asset Management, relinquished management of the property on Aug. 1.
KSHB 41 News reached out to Northland Asset Management but have not received a response.
When we reached out to Levovitz’s number with Wiser KC LLC on Wednesday, we got a text response saying they no longer own the properties.
Joseph said she is unsure who the new owners will be.
"It's really just hot potato from one landlord to the next, nobody fixing issues," Joseph said.
Now the responsibility has fallen to the city — and specifically, City Manager Mario Vasquez.
Councilman Johnathan Duncan, who sponsored the emergency ordinance, called out Vasquez after a Tuesday committee meeting.
He also took to social media to share his frustration.
"Either the city manager enforces the code and the provisions that city council has passed, or the city manager resigns, and those are the two options," Duncan said.
Duncan said the city manager told him the contractor hired for the repairs didn't believe they could complete the work as requested.
"I'm not asking for excuses,” Duncan said. “If we had an emergency issue here in this building, we would fix it. It was an emergency directive, and it still hasn't been completed — two weeks later, it's unacceptable. It is a sign of incompetence and a complete utter failure by the city manager.”
KSHB 41 News also reached out to the KCMO City Manager's Office, which said Vasquez was unavailable to speak Wednesday.
Joseph said tenants have been in frequent contact with the City Manager's Office asking for updates, and they keep hearing that staff has spent a lot of time on the issue — but nothing has changed on the ground.
She also shared an email summary of commitments made when the city manager visited the property on July 9, which included having follow-up meetings and collaboration, which Joseph said have yet to occur.
"The people taking care of this property are the tenants themselves, and at this point, they've been abandoned by everybody that has a responsibility to them," Joseph said.
A spokesperson from the City Manager's Office sent the following information Wednesday evening after the on-air piece.
"Kansas City is actively engaged in addressing the living conditions of residents at the North Lawn Ave. Apartments. Their health and safety are primary concerns. We're working with the new property owners who have already taken steps to improve the buildings and to provide residents with safe housing options," the spokesperson wrote.
They also said the following.:
"Some of the information shared about the city's involvement has been incomplete. Here is a recap of the steps we have taken so far:The city understands that all residents deserve safe living conditions and will continue to collaborate with organizations such as the United Way of Greater Kansas City to provide relocation assistance."
- City Council members, City Manager Mario Vasquez, and other city leaders met with residents to discuss concerns and identify the next steps.
- City council voted to immediately inspect properties at 135, 132, and 148 North Lawn Avenue following previous code violations and citations issued to the property's former owner. On Friday, July 24, the city began conversations with contractors to address safety issues.
- The city's Multidisciplinary Task Force met with contractors on site to walk through the property and document any violations or hazardous conditions.
- An emergency order was issued to former property owner Wiser KC LLC, for the properties at 134, 136, 138, and 140 N. Lawn Ave., requiring them to correct identified health and safety hazards immediately, including repairs to the sewer and electrical repairs.
- Drains were cleared, removing sewage backups and standing wastewater in basements. The next step is to scope the sewer lines to assess the condition of the main line and identify necessary repairs.
- Each building has had continuous water and electrical service throughout this process. While a few individual outlets or window units may have experienced isolated issues, no building-wide electrical outages were identified.
- The city will hire a contractor to repair the electrical system once a detailed scope of work has been submitted.
Officials plan to share more updates at Thursday's 1 p.m. business session.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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