A family on Staten Island feels trapped in their own apartment because the temperatures are too hot. NY1's Jared Smith has more.

Ana Colon Cuevas has been living inside this unit at the Richmond Terrace Houses for three-and-a-half years with her husband and daughter.

A unit that Cuevas says is way too hot.

"Honestly it's been hell, it's been hell," Cuevas said.

The family has made numerous attempts to contact the New York City Housing Authority about the ongoing problem, but has had very little luck.

"Frustration, just total frustration, every time you try to call, they get nasty," Cuevas said.

The Housing Authority says they have made several attempts to fix the radiator and as recently as Thursday they claim the temperature inside the apartment was 72 degrees.

So let's do our own temperature check. This is an infrared thermometer. Here's what we found out.

If you point it towards the kitchen table, it reads 84 degrees.

By the chair in the living room, almost 90 degrees.

And in the top corner of the apartment where the pipes come down from the ceiling, a whopping 150 degrees.

Those temperature levels have been particularly uncomfortable for Ana's husband Oscar, who has a breathing disorder.

"The heat dries up my throat," Oscar said. "And I don't know what it does to my lungs, it makes them thick and I can't breathe out because I've got COPD, and I feel like I'm going to die, it's not right."

"My husband is very ill, and he's been intubated several times," Ana said.

The family has already made several requests to transfer to another unit, but has been denied each time.

Besides public housing, their options are limited.

"We really feel that we can't go anywhere else because of our income," Ana said. "And they just do what they want with us."

The Housing Authority says they are aware of the family's request to be moved and has asked Cuevas to fill out another transfer form. Something she says she's already done three times.