‘I just need wound care.’ Residents still suffering days after Mitchel Houses collapse

The water may be running, but without a boiler system, it’s ice cold. Families are left unable to bathe comfortably or cook with a stove.

Mike Lamorte

Oct 3, 2025, 11:18 PM

Updated 2 hr ago

Share:

It’s been several days since a chimney collapsed at the Mitchel Houses complex and tenants say they’re still living in fear and frustration as repairs drag on.
The water may be running, but without a boiler system, it’s ice cold. Families are left unable to bathe comfortably or cook with a stove.
“We don’t have hot water, no stove. Nothing, nothing, nothing. After three days now,” said neighbor Diallo.
Inspectors say it could take weeks before gas and hot water are restored to the Mott Haven complex.
For residents like Edward Torres, the wait is more than an inconvenience. It’s dangerous.
“I can’t take a cold shower. I have a ton of nerve damage and it shocks my body,” Torres told News 12. “I could go into a seizure or something and I don’t want all that.”
Paralyzed for more than a decade after a gunshot left him in a wheelchair, Torres said when the building started rumbling, a friend had to carry him outside — without his chair.
“Eight hours later, they allowed someone to bring my chair down, ‘cause I have wounds and I can’t sit on hard surfaces for too long,” he explained.
Back in his second-floor apartment, Torres now faces days without hot water that could further threaten his health.
“I just need wound care,” he said.
Torres showed News 12 a text he sent to Brian Honan, NYCHA’s vice president of Intergovernmental Relations. The reply? A thumbs-up emoji.
“They were supposed to put me in a hotel last night,” Torres said. “But I guess the process, they’re helping so many people so they must be waiting to get me approved so I can take at least a shower today,” Torres said.
News 12 called Honan for an update on Torres’ situation, but he did not pick up. Torres later told News 12 he was informed he would be escorted to a hotel sometime Friday night.