Bronx NYCHA residents still without gas after October building collapse

MOTT HAVEN, The Bronx (WABC) -- Victims of a building collapse nearly two months ago in the Bronx are now distraught over the obstacles to hosting Thanksgiving.

Residents of NYCHA's Mitchel Houses in Mott Haven are able to stay in their apartments, but they are still without gas. Instead, the housing authority gave each of them a single hot plate.

"I grew up here. I've been here 47 years," said Agnes Toro.

For Toro, home is not where the heart is, but rather where the headaches are - starting with the elevators.

"Every day it's the same issue with that elevator - it goes out," Toro said, adding that there is one elevator for 18 floors.

When Eyewitness News reached the 18th floor, there was the biggest headache - Toro has not had gas to cook with since October 1. Thanksgiving is less than a week away.

"I had to come out of my pocket to buy something to make the turkey. Extra burners. And rice to make rice for the kids to make a dinner for the kids," Toro says.

"We don't got nothing. We got a hot plate. A hot plate is not going to help us. Especially look - we got to do Thanksgiving. How are we going to do that?" adds resident Jessica Rivera.

Residents of the Mitchel Houses would love to be sharing thanks, but instead they share frustration - they still have to pay rent.

"They give a $15 gift card? That's like a smack i the face for us," says Diana Hernandez.

The city's housing authority distributed the gift cards, over 1,000 hot plates and over 1,000 slow cookers after a suspected gas leak caused an explosion and partial building collapse, cutting off gas when residents need it most.

Building management has posted notices throughout the complex, apologizing for the ongoing inconvenience and telling residents in order to fix the problem they have got to replace gas pipes throughout the entire complex.

It is hard for residents to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

NYCHA wrote in part,

"Gas service interruptions and restoration work are a matter of public safety and involve multiple partners and steps."

The only thing being served this Thanksgiving is the constant reminder - the blue tarp that covers the part of the building that crumbled - with no clear indication as to when life will be back to normal.

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