Union Plaza tenants lose power amid ongoing building issues
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Tenants at Union Plaza were caught off guard Monday morning when their power was suddenly shut off, leaving some residents stranded on upper floors and a business owner scrambling to cancel appointments.
Jenny Fredrickson, who has owned JJ Union Nails at Union Plaza for 10 years, said the outage forced her to call clients and send employees home, something she worried about financially.
“Me and my employees were sitting in the back waiting for customers to come in, and boom, no light,” Fredrickson said.
She added that the interruption cost her between $800 and $1,000 in lost revenue.
“As the power went down, they go, ‘Oh my god, what are we going to do?’ Their worries on top of that make me worried, because of their income, my income, and I just paid them,” she said.
Other tenants were also affected, particularly those on upper floors after the elevators stopped working.
“We had to carry a lady all the way down from the penthouse. It’s sad, there are more people upstairs who had to walk 10 flights of stairs just to get out,” said resident Eric Wright.
Most were eventually allowed to stay, though a dozen remained under court orders to vacate.
The building, a former office tower, has a limited number of bathrooms, kitchens, and windows.
“Got everybody paying rent and still our power’s out. This is unacceptable,” Wright said.
The building manager has not yet responded to requests for comment. He previously said tenants will eventually have to move out because he is converting the building into student housing.
Hawaiian Electric said it is working with customers to resolve account concerns.
A spokesman said, “We always strive to work with our customers to resolve any concerns with their accounts. We help our customers with options to address, for example, outstanding balances and noncompliant equipment issues. We work closely with our customers to develop options, as we believe that disconnection should always be a last resort.”
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