‘THIS IS AN EMERGENCY’
Demonstrators call on NYCHA to restore cooking gas at Astoria Houses
Photo by Dean Moses
remain anonymous, said they
were at first told it would be a 24-
hour emergency, but they were
then told the cooking gas would
be out indefinitely.
“Then they told them to go to
the office for hot plates. Those
who went early got a new one;
others got a refurbished one,”
Rodriguez read from their
statement.
NYCHA gave one hot plate to
each household in the building,
and say they are “making additional
contingency measures.”
A spokesperson previously told
QNS the restoration involves
multiple partners and steps, and
that the agency is working with
an outside vendor to expedite
the process.
Rodriguez said that while
they demonstrators rallied to to
demand the gas restoration at
Astoria Houses, there are other
public housing buildings with
unsuitable living conditions.
But not having cooking gas
and only one hot plate to cook for
a family presents bigger problems
that cause lingering stress,
anxiety and anger, he said.
“We are setting up the Black
family for failure, Brown people
for failure, people from NYCHA
for failure,” said Rodriguez.
“People don’t connect the dots
between people being able to
feed their families, and people
going to jail 10 years later … but
that’s what’s happening right
now. This is an emergency.
Emergency means now.”
Protesters chanted “What do
we want? Gas! When do we want
it? Now! If we don’t get it, shut
it down,” while marching on
Jackson Avenue toward Steinway
Street.
The march ended at Astoria
Houses.
Additional reporting by Dean
Moses.
HURRY UP AND VOTE!
BESTOF.QNS.COM
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | OCT. 23-OCT. 29, 2020 1
Your Neighborhood — Your News®
THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
75 cents
GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
Oct. 23-Oct. 29, 2020
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
About 50 people marched
from the Long Island City
Courthouse to Astoria Houses
to demand NYCHA restore the
cooking gas missing from an entire
building in the public housing
complex on Monday, Oct. 19.
Almost 30 days have passed
since tenants at 1-04 Astoria
Blvd. filed a ticket about their
cooking gas outage. NYCHA
told QNS an outside vendor is
scheduled to visit Astoria Houses
on Oct. 21 and “submit a scope
of work outlining the necessary
repairs.”
On Monday afternoon, Astoria
residents gathered at the LIC
Courthouse and gave speeches
before the march began.
Dannelly Rodriguez, a community
activist and member
of the Justice for All Coalition,
said that in the last two years,
he’s witnessed “overt neglect
and gross negligence” that he
claims NYCHA created for
Black and Brown people living
in public housing.
“We’re not going to stop
marching. We’re not going to
stop advocating. We’re not going
to stop hitting the streets until
every single public housing tenement
in this city is renovated,
revamped and giving power to
the tenants,” said Rodriguez.
“We need resident management
corporations, tenant control.
We need to make sure that we’re
funding NYCHA entirely and
that the tenants in each individual
houses has autonomy
over what’s going on in their
projects.”
There were no tenants of
Astoria Houses at the march, as
some speakers noted they feared
retaliation from NYCHA. Some
residents of Astoria Houses
even asked the organizers not to
hold the rally.
Roque Rodriguez, a Sunnyside
resident and business owner,
said that while some Astoria
Houses tenants asked him not
to have the protest, one tenant
gave him a statement to read.
The statement detailed how
communications from management
haven’t been consistent
nor transparent with those who
live in the building.
The tenant, who asked to
Vol. 8, No. 43 44 total pages
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA PARLORS, PLASTIC SURGEONS, PET GROOMERS & MUCH MORE
THROUGH NOVEMBER 2ND AT 2021
To see winners and keep up to date with the competition, follow us @bestoftheboro
/BESTOF.QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
