8 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 10, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens leaders demand NYCHA not charge Arverne
Carleton Manor tenants rent amid hot water outage
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards and state
Senator James Sanders Jr. are
demanding rent forgiveness for
tenants of the New York City
Housing Authority’s (NYCHA)
Carleton Manor development in
Arverne, as they enter their fourth
month without hot water during
frigid temperatures.
Richards and Sanders were
joined by current and former tenant
association leadership and
building tenants for a press conference
on Monday, Feb. 7, outside
of Carleton Manor, located
at 74-15 Beach Channel Dr., urging
NYCHA to resolve the issue as
soon as possible.
For 56 days, residents have been
boiling pots of water on a stove
in order to bathe, according to
Richards.
“It’s the city’s fault for acting
like a slumlord who thinks they
can get away with dehumanizing
our residents in Carleton Manor
House. We don’t want to hear the
progress NYCHA is making or
that a certain percentage of people
have gotten their hot water back,”
Richards said. “Th is problem has
existed since November and it’s
February. We’re in the middle
of winter. Why has it taken four
months to fi gure this out? Th at
tells me NYCHA is completely
incompetent or they couldn’t
bother to off er basic services to
its residents. I think it’s both. It’s
about time NYCHA started treating
its residents with respect and
fairness.”
The borough president is
requesting that Carleton Manor
residents should not have to pay
rent until May as repairs are ongoing,
matching the amount of time
they’ve had to pay rent this winter
despite not having hot water.
Dozens of tenants have fi led a
petition in Housing Court seeking
to force NYCHA to make
repairs at the 174-unit building.
Th e Daily News fi rst reported the
story that NYCHA hired an unlicensed
plumber to oversee repair
work on the building, and the
plumber has yet to fi x more than
50 apartments.
According to Richards, NYCHA
offi cials said they’re working to
repair those units by the end of
this week.
Tenant Lawanda Johnson-
Gainey, president of the resident
council, says it has been a struggle
not having hot water.
“Most have hot water and some
don’t,” Johnson-Gainey said.
“We’re now dealing with low
water pressure — when we turn
on the shower, it trickles down
and you can’t take a shower. We’ve
been fi ghting for this for a long
time and we’ve been on and off
since before November, but it’s
just been a lot.”
According to Alisha Robinson,
the situation has persisted for
more than four months and tenants
had no idea when they would
get hot water again.
Although a new boiler system
was installed, Robinson says the
water was still cold at 40 degrees
and was told that her shower head
needed to be replaced.
“What does changing the shower
head have to do with the water
that’s coming from the shower
head?” Robinson said. “Why
aren’t you going onto the inside
where the water is coming from,
instead of where it’s coming out
of? Th at makes no sense to me.”
According to Robinson, aft er
some work was completed in her
bathtub, she was relieved to have
some hot water to wash dishes,
take a shower and bathe her dog,
Snicker.
“When I got in the water I said,
‘Oh my god.’ I got excited and
when it stayed that way, I got even
more excited,” Robinson said. “It’s
a necessity to have hot water.”
As she entered the building
and walked down the hallway,
Robinson pointed out water damage
on the ceiling.
“At night, sometimes there’s a
big puddle on the fl oor because
water is leaking from somewhere,
but they came in and fi xed
it a couple of months ago and
it looked nice,” Robinson said.
“Th ey had replastered it, but now
it’s back to how it was before.”
Sanders, who called out
NYCHA on its incomplete lack of
services, said Carleton Manor has
had problems in the past, including
providing heat for tenants.
“For many, this has been going
on for so long. Th e latest outrage
is the hot water. When are
we going to get our act together?
NYCHA, you told me that
you needed more money, and I
stood with you on every budget
request. Now I need you to stand
with my bosses here, and they
have a simple request. Today,
it’s not just simply hot water, but
hot water you can see and feel. I
am glad that my neighbors said
they will not suff er in silence,”
Sanders said.
In a statement, Councilwoman
Selvena Brooks-Powers, who represents
Arverne, said her offi ce
will not rest until residents in public
housing are treated with the
dignity and respect they deserve.
“NYCHA tenants deserve basic
housing services, and the persistent
interruptions of those services
are the unacceptable result
of decades of divestment and
neglect. Rockaway is a coastal
community, and when it is cold in
New York City, it’s even colder on
the peninsula. Heat and hot water
outages throughout the winter
are particularly dangerous for our
residents,” Brooks-Powers said.
Powers said her offi ce has been
closely monitoring the systemic
issues at Carleton Manor and
other NYCHA residencies in the
district.
“We are working with our government
partners at NYCHA to
ensure that outages are fl agged
and resolved as quickly as possible
and that our residents remain
warm and safe,” Brooks-Powers
said.
According to NYCHA,
Carleton Manor residents do
have hot water and the building
has been and remains a priority,
as numerous actions have
been taken since November 2021
and external partners, including
National Grid, have been consulted
to identify the root cause of the
problem.
“Th is problem stems from
decades of neglect due to disinvestment,
therefore any diminution
in funds will only lead
to further deterioration of buildings
and services. NYCHA staff
have been working around the
clock with outside vendors and
experts to address the underlying
water temperature and pressure
issues,” a NYCHA spokesperson
told QNS.
Th is ongoing work has been
underway since November 2021
by NYCHA plumbing teams,
skilled trades and development
staff , as well as external vendors
to troubleshoot the aging and
severely underfunded infrastructure,
according to NYCHA. Th is
was in addition to testing the circulating
pump and return lines
in the crawl spaces, as well as
checking for improperly installed
washing machines and faulty
shower heads.
NYCHA has replaced shower
bodies in 115 out of 170 units
and 15 units still need residents
to provide access. In 40 units,
NYCHA said they cannot do the
replacements until the shutoff
valves are repaired for the O, P, Q
and R lines. Th is was discovered
when the plumbers went to start
the work. Th e lines could not hold
the water.
NYCHA is scheduling repairs
for Th ursday, Feb. 10, and there
will be no heat or hot water on
that day. Following the valve
repair work, tenants will be contacted
so that NYCHA can access
their apartments. Without access,
NYCHA says the work cannot be
completed. When the entire lines
have been replaced, residents can
access their apartments.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, left, stands with Carleton Manor tenants, Alisha Robinson, center, and
LaWanda Gainey-Johnson at a news conference demanding NYCHA return hot water to all units in the building, on
Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.
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