Residents Of 2 Bronx Buildings Complain Of Lack Of Heat
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Scores of people who pay rent complain they have no heat and the blame is falling on their landlord.
Norma Pena is showering with hot water she boils on the stove.
"This is the boiling water that I use all night last night until into this morning because there was no hot water," Norma Pena told CBS2's Matt Kozar.
Without heat, she and her daughter are sleeping the same bed and relying on a space heater.
"It's too cold in this apartment," Pena said.
As CBS2's Kozar reported, it's a complaint heard many times from residents at two Section 8 apartment buildings on Honeywell Avenue and East 180th Street in the West Farms section of the Bronx.
"When I try to take a shower there's only cold water," resident Whitakur Green said.
"We live here. We pay our rent. We deserve to be treated like human beings," Ernest Lee added.
The residents CBS2 spoke with said the building's heat is sporadic.
On top of that, Con Ed sent letters to residents warning service would be shut off unless the landlord paid a massively overdue bill, totaling nearly $7,000.
CBS2 found out the company made a big payment on one building this week, but Con Ed says the landlord has an account balance on the other building of $166 and if it doesn't get paid, the utility company says it will cut the power on Wednesday.
"I think it's petty, and even if they paid it, it wouldn't make a difference," resident David Figueroa said.
Some residents resorted to hanging banners from their apartments to get the landlord's attention.
For now, the hot water boilers are running, but the question remains for how long.
CBS2 reached out to the building's managers but were unable to reach them for comment.
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