Interior air quality violations found in East Harlem apartment after CBS2 report
NEW YORK -- Residents in East Harlem say their apartments are covered in a black tar-like substance due to work being done by the city.
They told CBS2's Lisa Rozner it's been going on for seven years. After her reporting on Sept. 16, a small step was made Wednesday in getting them the help they need.
Wednesday, NYCHA workers were seen troubleshooting a mobile boiler on East 102nd Street after receiving more calls about the pollution it's creating inside apartments nearby.
"The smoke, it's coming in through my window," East Harlem resident Marchaney Harrison said. "I'm sick from this apartment, and they're not doing anything."
Two weeks ago, we showed you the thick black residue Marilyn Morales and other Section 8 residents are surrounded by, no matter how much they clean.
Wednesday, Morales said its presence is still as strong, but now there's a countdown for her building's owner, Phipps Houses and Hobbs Ciena Associates, to do something about it.
She says the day after CBS2's report aired, a NYCHA inspector came and found it "failed to maintain the premises in accordance with federal housing quality standards." He told her the management had 30 days to correct interior air quality violations found in the kitchen, living room and bedroom.
"He also mentioned that the reason it failed, it's because it's not healthy for your respiratory system," Morales said.
Other residents who say they are impacted by the mobile boiler say they have not received inspections. CBS2 did ask NYCHA why, but a spokesperson didn't get back to us by our deadline.
NYCHA previously confirmed the mobile boiler had been on site since 2017 due to Hurricane Sandy damage and the nearby building's boiler was in its final stages of construction.
"For me to have to call management and get no response. To this day, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have an inspector come in," Morales told Rozner. "I thank you. I thank your crew. I thank channel 2 CBS."
And we'll stay on it. If the issue is not corrected in 30 days, the city's website says housing assistance payments made to the landlord can be abated.
A spokesperson for the landlord of Phipps Houses tells us they've contacted NYCHA several times to address the soot from the boiler. They are urging NYCHA to remove it immediately.
All NYCHA told us was that an inspection of the mobile boiler found it to be operating normally.