Families who live at the Throggs Neck Houses are still assessing the damages from a massive pipe break that flooded their apartments. 

Many residents in the building are demanding an explanation for why it took the New York City Housing Authority so long to dispatch crews to deal with the flood crisis.  

Tenants say the incident started in an eighth-floor apartment and sent steaming water down several floors below.  

They say their furniture, clothing, and belongings have all been damaged from the flood, but that NYCHA has also agreed to pay for some of their losses for anything up to $500 in value, and that anything greater than $500 requires a receipt and longer process before NYCHA can reimburse.  

Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez was outside of Throggs Neck Houses on Tuesday handing out reimbursement forms to families and ensuring they’re aware of the services available to them following this incident.  

Residents are happy to be picking up the pieces with the help of local leaders, but are still upset that they were left to handle the crisis themselves and that maintenance from NYCHA took hours to respond.  

“The fact is, so many people were calling on Sunday and they were ignored,” said Velazquez. “I had to hear from residents at six in the morning, I didn’t hear from NYCHA directly until I gave them a call, which is a big issue. I brought it to the top and I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” 

Families say the building has had issues in the past, including elevator problems in the past.