Brooklyn tenants living without power, gas protest landlord

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WABC) -- Tenants of an apartment building on Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn have been without electricity and gas service as temperatures - and tempers - have risen.

Angry tenants in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn crowded into the office of their building's owner Thursday but got few answers and little satisfaction. A secretary for the owner told them that the landlord hired to manage the building is to blame for recent problems.

"He was collecting their rent. He was their landlord. (There was) no payment for the gas and the electricity," said Desiree Wiggins, the owner representative. "It was shut off."

Residents said they paid their rent each month for their apartments, but within the last week, they've lost gas service. Recently, they lost electricity to their apartments, leaving refrigerators with rotting food.

Michael Key's apartment is one of 16 units in the three-floor building. Some pay as much as $800 dollars a month for one room with a shared kitchen and bath.

"That milk has got to go," said Key gesturing inside his refrigerator. "If we touch any of this, we are going to get sick. We've been ordering out. You can tell, Chinese food here, Spanish food here."

At the magaer's office, tenants chanted, "No justice, no peace." With help from New York Communities for Change, the tenants rallied to protest the problems.

"There are people that are old and sick, that have children," said Stephanie Rodriguez. "We have no way of keeping our food cold, keeping cool through the heat wave right now."

The tenants, who were told they each have to go to Con Edison to have their power restored, said they can't do that without a lease, which they never got from the landlord.

"Even if we do get something, we probably won't get any electricity until Monday," said Key. "It's a holiday weekend."

The building's owner said there has been legal action against the landlord, and it's still unclear if he is still managing the building. For now, tenants will likely spend the next few days, a long holiday weekend without power and gas service.