Tenants in Astoria building building fed up with having no gas, hot water

ASTORIA (WABC) -- If residents of Acropolis Garden in Astoria seem angry, they have good reason. Half a dozen buildings in the co-op complex not had any gas for cooking or hot water for bathing since April.

"I have to call every day, every day about hot water - every month to pay $1,625 for a 500 square foot box," said one resident who did not want to be named.

Eyewitness News is told Con Ed shut off gas in April after a small fire in the laundry room - and that is where the blame game begins. On Monday afternoon, Con-Ed announced in a statement that they restored gas to two of the buildings,

"The problem involves internal piping issues that the building management needs to address. The service was shut off to several of the buildings because of unauthorized, improper hook ups that violate building codes. Building management has been made fully aware of what they need to do. Gas was shut off for the safety of the residents. We'll continue working with the city to make restorations as proper repairs are made."

Con Ed Says there were "unauthorized, improper hookups that violate building codes", and until those are fixed, Con Ed will not put the residents at risk and turn on the gas. However, an attorney for the co-op board says it is Con-Ed's fault.

On Monday, city and state officials join with tenants to argue the stalemate is not acceptable. They claim the building is not up to code, and the owners needed to fix the many issues in the building so that Con Ed can finally restore power.

Unit owners tell Eyewitness News that a lack of gas is just a symptom of a larger problem - a poorly run co-op. They complain they have asked, and sued to see the financials, but have not gotten any answers.