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‘This is not OK’: Residents endure a night without power in Dallas’ Oak Lawn area

From luxury apartments to government-subsidized housing, cold weather puts neighbors in the same boat

Ebun Oyo sat in her car Tuesday morning charging her phones and keeping her pet fish warm.

An unnamed blue betta, the fish was dying as the temperature inside Oyo’s apartment dropped overnight due to an ongoing power shortage.

Oyo is a resident of the Oak Lawn neighborhood that was frozen solid Tuesday.

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The shops and restaurants on “The Strip” of Cedar Springs Avenue were darkened with no power. Mannequins in one storefront, ironically, modeled spring’s latest fashions — shorts and button-down shirts with matching face masks — while ice covered the sidewalk. Not even the street lights fluttered.

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Inside the apartment complexes that line the avenue were people living without power and heat for more than a day, gripping blankets, afraid to open the blinds to avoid letting out what little heat they had left.

This stretch of Oak Lawn and an unknown number of North Texas neighborhoods have gone without power since about 1 a.m. Monday. The usually lively area is home to new luxury apartment complexes and trendy restaurants and is the epicenter of Dallas’ LGBTQ community.

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For it to be crippled without power for more than a day illustrates just how dire the situation is in North Texas.

To stay warm herself, Oyo wore multiple layers. She tried to get out last night, but there was nowhere to go, she said. All the hotels were booked — if they had power. As she sat in her car, she contemplated going to a nearby corner store for something warm to eat. So far, she’s survived only on cookies.

She’s running low on gas too — only a quarter of the tank left. But she’s never driven in snow before. Is it worth it?

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She held up her fish. Its long blue fins waved at her.

“He’s better now,” she smiled.

Inside Oyo’s apartment complex, the hallways were pitch black. Trash bags, which would be picked up by a concierge service during normal weather, piled up. The pool where dozens of residents lounge summer days away was a frozen pond.

Jacky Chan eats a can of beans he warmed up on his apartment complex's gas grill in an...
Jacky Chan eats a can of beans he warmed up on his apartment complex's gas grill in an outside courtyard on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 in Dallas. Chan said he didn't think the historic snowstorm that left millions without power would be this bad. (Nic Garcia / Donald Williams shoveled snow outside his apartment Tuesday, February 16, 2021 in Dallas. Williams relocated to Dallas after surviving Hurricane Katrina.  )

In the courtyard, another resident warmed food, recently procured from Walmart, on a gas grill covered in icicles. For breakfast: an egg and sausage sandwich, a bag of chips and a can of pork beans.

“I thought it was going to be regular snow,” said Jacky Chan. “I didn’t think it was going to be this bad.”

Just then neighbor Cynde Betton returned to her apartment after staying with a friend, Jasmine Bell, who had power in nearby Uptown. Betton had fled the complex after management sent a note encouraging residents to do so.

As Benton stuffed frozen food into bags, Bell rolled her eyes recalling all the criticism she’s heard from her friends from the North.

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“We didn’t prepare for this,” she said.

“It’s crazy just trying to stay warm,” Betton said. “Hopefully this passes quickly.”

Betton glanced at the thermostat to see how cold it was in her deserted apartment — it wasn’t even on.

“I’m taking her to dinner,” Betton said.

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“Her keeping me company is payback enough,” Bell joked.

Across the street from the luxury apartment complex is government-subsidized housing. It was also without power.

Donald Williams shoveled snow outside his apartment Tuesday, February 16, 2021 in Dallas....
Donald Williams shoveled snow outside his apartment Tuesday, February 16, 2021 in Dallas. Williams relocated to Dallas after surviving Hurricane Katrina.  (Nic Garcia / Donald Williams shoveled snow outside his apartment Tuesday, February 16, 2021 in Dallas. Williams relocated to Dallas after surviving Hurricane Katrina.  )

Donald Williams has lived there ever since he left New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He was shoveling snow and breaking ice.

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“Everything is hitting us,” he said, thinking about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “But thank God, we’re still here.”

While there was no electricity, residents did have gas stoves and were using them to heat their homes and cook food before it spoiled in unpowered refrigerators.

Kyiasia Wise boiled water and threw it on her stoop to break up the ice — a Sisyphean effort but something to pass the time while she waited for her boyfriend to return.

The cold didn’t bother the New York native too much. But she was frustrated with the lack of power.

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”This is not OK,” she said.

Shay Cooks was eating her first warm meal in 24 hours in her car. Her fingers were covered with barbecue sauce.

“It’s like we’re being tortured,” she said. Other family members had power, but she was worried about driving to Oak Cliff. When she learned it could be days before the power is restored, she reconsidered.

“We’re gonna need to go somewhere. I’m gonna make some calls,” she said. “They ought to give everybody a gift card when this is all done with. Especially people on a budget.”

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Gloria Marchan, another neighbor, was sitting in her car. It wouldn’t start but there was just enough life to give her cell phone a little bit of charge. She read a text message from Oncor, the company that transfers power to people’s homes and businesses.

Seeking answers, Marchan texted “status” at 1:06 a.m.

“We are reviewing damage in your area. We will provide an update when your power will return,” Oncor responded at 1:12 a.m.

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Marchan is thankful that her daughter is safe and warm at her great-grandmother’s house in Duncanville. In hindsight, she should have stayed there, too, but she was supposed to start a new job Tuesday. That didn’t happen.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “Everyone else has their power turning on and off.”

She looked across the street and wondered if the flashy apartments had power. They don’t, she was told.

She sighed — and hoped her sister would pick her up and take her somewhere warm.