Tenants: Monthslong gas outage at NYCHA’s Sterling Houses ruins Thanksgiving plans

Families who live in the housing say their stoves no longer work and the hot plates given to them by NYCHA in June aren't enough.

News 12 Staff

Nov 23, 2022, 3:25 AM

Updated 703 days ago

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Families living at the New York Housing Authority’s Sterling Houses in Brooklyn say a homemade Thanksgiving dinner won't be a reality for them this year due to their gas being turned off since June.
Melinda Veazy has lived at her apartment inside 1448 Sterling Place for about two decades.
She and many other neighbors say for the first time they won't be making Thanksgiving dinner the way they planned because they have had no gas for months.
Families who live in the housing say their stoves no longer work and the hot plates given to them by NYCHA in June aren't enough.
“They gave us this hot plate. It's Thanksgiving and we can’t cook a turkey or bake. What are we supposed to do now for our food and our family in our celebration with a hot plate?” says resident Kenya Williams.
The residents say they feel NYCHA has given them the runaround.
“I called housing yesterday and they couldn’t give me any answer, nothing. How does a manager have no clue about why we have no gas?” Veazy says.
NYCHA told News 12 the gas has been off for 10 apartments since June partly because of a leak on the gas line. It says it is working with a vendor to make repairs.
Tenants say it's too little, too late with Thanksgiving this week and still repairs yet to be made.
NYCHA could not provide a date on when the work will be complete, but says it will be giving out food to the families who live in these 10 apartments without gas on Wednesday.