HPD shares guidance for broken boilers ahead of winter storm

NEW YORK - With this weekend's approaching snow storm, New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development wants to share some guidance on keeping your heat and hot water flowing. 

All year round, HPD deploys crews to ensure buildings stay up to standards. HPD deputy commissioner of enforcement AnnMarie Santiago says winter brings a special challenge, as boilers reach their breaking points.

"The fastest way to have your issues resolved in most cases is to contact the landlord directly," Santiago said. "If they are unresponsive to you, your next step should be to get in touch with 311."

When outside temperatures fall below 55 degrees, landlords have to keep the thermostat inside set to at least 68 during the day and 62 at night.

By the time Cleveland Manley and his neighbors on West 118th Street reached out to CBS New York for help in November, the building's management company had already received several HPD citations and tenants were using ovens to heat their homes.

"The owner is always first and foremost responsible for doing that," Santiago said. "When there is no heat, HPD's emergency repair program may get involved to respond."

After CBS New York raised serious concerns about the tenants' safety, HPD sent its own contracted crew to renovate the entire boiler room and install a new system over the following two weeks.

"We just want to remind people that there are safe ways to stay warm in the event that there is an outage for some reason in your building," Santiago advised.

Santiago suggests restricted use of space heaters, plugging them directly into the wall and making sure the floor is clear around them.

You should continue to call 311 if your landlord does not fix things quickly, and check HPD Online for the status of your case.

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