Red Hook Houses Tenants Complain About Lack Of Progress 1 Year After Sandy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Brooklyn's largest public housing complex was blacked out for weeks after superstorm Sandy roared ashore.
One year later, residents of the Red Hook Houses say they're still begging the city for livable homes.
As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, a sunny morning almost a year ago turned black as night inside the building.
Red Hook Houses Tenants Complain About Lack Of Progress 1 Year After Sandy
There were frustrated residents waiting outside on food and supply lines as people were left without basic necessities.
Sonia Warren's mantra back then was "just get through it."
"We were 18, 19 days with no water, no heat, no nothing," she told Silverman.
Over that stretch, residents got their heat from gas ovens that they left on all night.
"Even though they said not to do that, we didn't have any other choice," she said.
Repairs were hard to come by even after the power was restored. As a result, her floor is warped from moisture and the wall of her shower caves in.
"It's rotted out," Warren told Silverman.
The hot water is still not consistent, she said.
"I could be sitting in the shower, all of a sudden it's cold," Warren told Silverman.
The temporary boiler that was brought in after the storm is still out front.
Resident Gene Bray said it spews fumes into his apartment.
"It's in everybody's lungs. Deep in the lung tissue," Bray said. "That's certainly not healthy."
The New York City Housing Authority said the temporary boiler will remain in place for at least another year.
"We're paying our rent because we have nowhere else to go," Warren told Silverman.
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