Report fi nds the Bronx was the
coldest borough this winter
BY AIDAN SEIDEN
Following the freezing
temperatures and dangerous
winds brought on by
Winter Storm Izzy this past
weekend, New Yorkers everywhere
are fi nding respite
in their apartments to protect
themselves from the inclement
weather. However,
as some tenants might have
already noticed, the heat in
their building has become
scarce, if not completely
nonexistent. Whether that
be from the apartment’s lack
of resources or the carelessness
of the landlord, the fact
is, tenants are being left to
brave the biting climates on
their own.
According to several
studies conducted over the
past several years by Rent-
Hop, a team that utilizes
data analysis to help renters
“fi nd great apartments”, certain
parts of the city, such as
Erasmus (Brooklyn), Bedford
Park-Fordham South
(the Bronx), and Hamilton
Heights (Manhattan), are
not receiving the heat they
need, despite the residents’
repeated complaints to 311.
As most New Yorkers
know, the NYC Heat Law requires
landlords to provide
heat for all tenants, specifi -
cally from Oct. 1 through
May 31; this period of time is
called “Heat Season”.
The law states that if the
outside temperature falls
below 55 degrees Farenheit
between the hours of 6 a.m.
and 10 p.m. the inside temperature
must be at least 68
degrees Fahrenheit. And, regardless
of the outside temperature,
from 10 p.m. to 6
a.m., the inside temperature
must be at least 62 degrees
Fahrenheit.
If an apartment is lacking
adequate heat and/or hot
water during these times,
The Department of Housing
Preservation and Development
(HPD) recommends notifying
the building owner,
landlord or superintendent
fi rst, and if service is not restored,
fi le an offi cial complaint
by calling 311.
Several properties in
the Bronx, including 2176
Tiebout Ave. and 2040
Bronxdale Ave., have reported
hundreds of complaints
since the start of the
Heat Season, according to
RentHop’s most recent study
of Heat Complaints in 2022.
“These are repeat offenders
from last year, and things
don’t seem to be improving
at all, according to the number
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 44 JAN. 28-FEB. 3, 2022 BTR
of 311 complaints associated
with these addresses,”
the data analysis team said.
Between Oct. 1, 2021, and
Jan. 19, 2022, New York City
tenants reported a total of
116,452 heat/hot water complaints
through 311, said
Renthop.
To accurately calculate
the number of heat/hot water
complaints, RentHop experts
aggregated the reports
by address and the date they
were recorded. They classifi
ed complaints fi led on
the same day, regarding the
same building, to be one
“unique complaint”.
At the end of the assessment,
they found that from
Oct 1, 2021 to Jan 19, 2022,
“the city received 83,878
unique heat complaints,
25.6% higher than the total
unique count of 66,784 in the
same period last year.”
Additionally, The Renthop
team observed residents
living in the Bronx
tend to struggle more than
residents in any other borough.
They examined the
top 20 neighborhoods with
the most unique complaints
this year, and discovered
that “17 of them, or 85%, are
neighborhoods located in
the Bronx.”
The Bronx has consistently
been the top borough
with the most heat complaints,
according to past
research conducted by Rent-
Hop, and this year, it was
exactly 85.8% worse than
the second-worst borough,
Brooklyn.
The analysts noticed a
trend that the apartment
buildings located in neighborhoods
at a further distance
from the center of the
city, appeared to experience
the same diffi culties with
heat.
However, they emphasized
that the number of
unique complaints increased
in all fi ve boroughs
this year, with a correlation
between a decrease in
rent leading to an increase
in heating violation reports.
“Renters in Manhattan have
fi led 30.7% more unique
heat/hot water complaints
this winter season as of Jan.
19,” they said.
“While climate change
seems to be making winters
shorter and warmer, humans
still need shelter and
heat during cold months,”
the RentHop team announced.
“As we brace ourselves
for the cold with some
hot cocoa, it is time to see
which neighborhoods suffer
the most this winter.”
The Bronx has consistently been the top borough with the most heat complaints, according to past research
conducted by RentHop. Photo| Adrian Childress