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June 26-July 2, 2020
Kim demands NYCHA repairs
at Bland Houses in Flushing
EARLY LEAD
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Since January, residents —
mostly seniors or working-class
families — at Bland Houses in
Flushing have been unable to
cook or use their stoves due to
a broken gas line, according to
State Assemblyman Ron Kim,
who is demanding city housing
officials to restore gas service.
This past week, Kim issued
a stern letter to Gregory Russ,
chairman and CEO of the New
York City Housing Authority
(NYCHA) and Vito Mustaciuolo,
general manager and COO of
NYCHA, on behalf of his constituents
living at Bland Houses
at 133-50 Roosevelt Ave. The
NYCHA development consists
of five buildings featuring 400
apartments that house almost
900 residents in Flushing.
The broken gas line has
pushed many residents to use
alternative methods such as
electric cookers or hot plates
provided by NYCHA to prepare
their meals. It has forced others
to make expensive food choices
outside of their limited budgets
for the past six months, especially
during the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to Kim.
“The lack of hot, nutritious
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seniors and low-income families,
whose economic security
has also been undermined by
the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kim
said in the letter. “Their health
and well being have been greatly
and negatively impacted by this
situation. Some have been forced
to use electric cookers or hot
plates as a short-term fix, but six
months without any improvements
of this state of affairs is
completely unacceptable.”
Kim is demanding an immediate
investigation of the situation
in order to restore gas service
for residents. Furthermore,
the assemblyman is requesting
that residents receive a rent reduction
and due compensation
for reduced services during the
past six months.
Meanwhile, in a statement
meals is more devastating for
sent to QNS, a NYCHA spokes-
Vol. 86 No. 26 36 total pages
person said they have not received
a letter from Kim
According to NYCHA, there
are two service interruptions
currently affecting two buildings
at Bland Houses for a total
of 20 apartments. The agency is
currently in the construction
phase of the repairs and does
not have an estimated restoration
date at this time.
The gas service restoration
process involves multiple partners
and steps including: shutting
off the gas service, making
necessary repairs, and inspection
by the Department of Buildings
in order to safely restore
service, according to NYCHA.
NYCHA said its staff regularly
provides residents with
updates on progress to service
restoration.
“While we understand that
gas service interruptions are
inconvenient, we also want to
ensure our residents’ health
and safety as we work to restore
service as quickly as possible,”
the spokesperson said.
In the meantime, the agency
is asking that all residents use
the MynychaApp or call the
Customer Contact Center at
718-707-7771 to create a work order
ticket for any maintenance
needs.
32 2021
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