Here We Go Again: Some Bronx NYCHA Residents Say They Have Not Had Consistent Heat Since Saturday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The season's first snowfall was unwelcome for shivering tenants inside a New York City Housing Authority complex in the Bronx.
The families claim they've been without heat since the weekend and say that every time the temperatures drop, their furnace kicks out, CBS2's Christina Fan reported Wednesday.
Rosa Rifas' patience has reached a boiling point inside her Clason Point home. Her space heater is on the highest setting, her pots and pans are cooking, but the air inside is still frigid cold.
The heating in her unit hasn't worked since Saturday.
"You have to wear your coat on, and your hoodie on, and then put socks on. Do you think that's a way for a human being to live?" Rifas said.
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Most of the homes in Clason Point Gardens do have heat, and that is why the eight tenants living in one row of homes are so infuriated.
Because their units are located at the end of the development, they were told the boiler sometimes doesn't produce enough heat to reach them, literally running out of steam.
"All they are telling us is, 'We're going to get to it, we're going to get to it.' That's not going to keep us warm. It's snowing out there now and the temperature's going to drop more," Rifas said.
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The affected tenants said they've called and filed dozens of tickets with the housing authority every winter. But when maintenance does finally show up, the repairs rarely last.
"It's not fixed. It'll be just for a day and that's it. That's a problem. When I wake up the next day I have to go back to having my layers on," resident Jackie Hill said.
CBS2 reached out to the building's manager as well as NYCHA. Neighbors said a couple hours after Fan arrived, the heating finally started to kick back on.
"They just put Band-Aids on it. They don't correct the situation," Rifas said.
This time, families are demanding for a permanent solution.
In a statement, NYCHA said, "Since Oct. 1, we have received eight no-heat complaints from this building. Staff did discover the system was waterlogged but have fixed the issue and will continue to check the system. This has not affected heat, but staff will take random temperatures throughout the building to confirm this."
