East Harlem NYCHA residents say they've been without running water for days
EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Residents in one NYCHA complex say they have been without running water for several days -- and they aren't even able to bathe or flush the toilet.
NYCHA officials said Monday they made emergency repairs to the Jackie Robinson Housing Project on 129th Street in East Harlem, but residents say this problem has plagued their complex for years.
Carlos Otero said he was grateful for the trickle of water he was able to get Monday. Often, he gets far less.
"We can never bathe, cook, clean, we can never do anything, there's never any water," Otero said.
Sometimes there's only hot water, sometimes only cold water. Sometimes there's none at all and it appears to be that way in every apartment unit.
"When we take a shower, we're halfway done, they shut the water off," one resident said.
When there is running water, all of the residents fill their bathtubs and keep buckets to refill the tanks of the toilets, which don't fill on their own.
NYCHA issued a statement saying they made some emergency repairs on Monday, but residents say the problem is not new.
"It's been going on for five or six years," said Otero.
To make it all worse, not only do residents not have water when they need it -- it's coming out of places it shouldn't.
Pipes leak and create puddles on the floor -- and entire ceilings have come down.
Though the weather is warm, many residents are starting to worry about winter. They know that if the hot water problems aren't solved soon, they'll be cold come December.
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