Queens NYCHA Tenants Rally, Demand City Fix Persistent Hot Water Problems
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tenants of a NYCHA building in Arverne, Queens say their hot water has been on and off for months and they're demanding the city do something about the problem.
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported Monday, the tenants said the building is unlivable.
"Like ice. This is the hot water," an 82-year-old tenant of Carleton Manor said.
The tenant of the New York City Housing Authority building on Beach Channel Drive said he's had to boil water just to take a bath or wash dishes every day for months.
He said his daughter recently came to visit and was appalled.
"She tell me, 'Dad, why do you live here in that condition in New York City?' I said, 'Honey I've been calling all over,'" he told Duddridge.
He's been calling on NYCHA, 311, and local politicians, who tenants said are finally paying attention.
They pointed fingers at a rally Monday.
"It's the city's fault for acting like a slumlord," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. "NYCHA's either completely incompetent or it couldn't be bothered to offer basic services to its residents."
In a statement to CBS2, a NYCHA spokesperson said staff have been working around the clock to address water temperature and pressure issues. But NYCHA officials also said the issue is "the result of deteriorating and severely underfunded infrastructure."
Fed up with the lack of action, residents took NYCHA to court where a judge said if NYCHA was a private landlord, it would be fined or even jailed.
So, we asked Mayor Eric Adams what the city is doing about it.
"Should NYCHA be held to the same standard as a private landlord and where is NYCHA on your priorities list?" Duddridge asked the mayor.
"There's just too much dysfunctional actions that's happening in NYCHA," Adams said.
Later, the mayor added, "I'm going to be on the phone today to find out what the heck happened here."
Adams said his team is working to create "NYCHA Stat," an alert system that flags buildings with the most serious issues and prioritizes them so residents aren't left waiting for months.