Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz decried the slow restoration of gas service for tenants of the Marble Hill Houses, many of whom have been without gas since July and August, as they face the possibility of cooking Thanksgiving dinner on temporary hot plates.
The woes of NYCHA tenants continue to stack up, this time for residents of four buildings in the Marble Hill Houses which straddle the border of Manhattan and the Bronx. Despite a recent letter from Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilman Andrew Cohen, and five other elected officials who represent Marble Hill Houses expressing vital concern about the lack of gas service in four buildings, there are still dozens of families without gas with the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner.
Gas service was first disrupted at 5360 Broadway on July 31, followed by 125 West 228th Street on August 16 and 69 West 225th Street and 210 West 230th Street on August 24, as NYCHA is in the process of installing new stoves for residents of Marble Hill Houses. A similar disruption of gas service plagued residents last year, also impacting Thanksgiving plans, as part of the same stove installation process. Last year, NYCHA officials indicated that as stoves were being installed workers noticed that the gas lines had frequently been altered improperly which necessitated the shutting off of each line until repairs could be made.
NYCHA officials stated at a Tenants’ Association meeting on October 18 that they had permits from Department of Buildings for 5360 Broadway and were in the process of acquiring permits for the other three buildings. However officials from the Department of Buildings indicated that there remained only the one permit as recently as November 16. The Tenants’ Association has also requested that no further stove installations are undertaken until after the winter holidays in anticipation that future gas disruptions will occur during the process. NYCHA officials acknowledged that the Tenants’ Association request made sense, and also indicated that gas service should be restored at 5360 Broadway before Thanksgiving, but have not responded to repeated inquiries regarding the other three buildings with gas-less tenants.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said: “The situation for these tenants is absolutely unacceptable. We are days away from Thanksgiving, a holiday for which many families spend multiple days together preparing huge meals, and NYCHA doesn’t even have permits for the work to begin. It has been four months without gas for dozens of families – what has NYCHA been doing? Why didn’t they anticipate these problems after we went through the exact same song and dance last year? Something’s got to give and people have every right to be furious.”
