Power, heat being restored for NYCHA residents at Stapleton Houses on Staten Island
STATEN ISLAND, New York (WABC) -- Residents at a NYCHA complex were without power, heat, hot water and working elevators for hours Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Power started to return to the Stapleton Houses on Staten Island on Thursday morning.
A member of the Stapleton Houses board said the cause of the sporadic outages is believed to be corroded electrical wires. A NYCHA worker told that board member that all that wiring has to be redone.
In a statement, the housing authority says the complex requires "extensive permanent repair."
"NYCHA staff worked through the night to restore power to all buildings at Stapleton Houses via mobile generator. All buildings currently have full apartment and public space power, heat, hot water, and elevator service. We continue to work on the extensive permanent repair," the statement said.
The loss in services came when temperatures hovered around the 30-degree mark overnight.
"I need power. I haven't had my phone charged," resident Jakima Baldwin said. "It's ridiculous. We've been going through this for years."
When the power was out, the only lights that could be seen were the flashlights from NYCHA workers as they tried to navigate and make repairs in the pitch-black dark, and temporary massive flood lights at the end of the complex.
MTA buses were on site and available to residents to keep them warm throughout the night.
The repair work was anticipated to continue throughout the day.
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