Sunday, February 24, 2013

Chilly nights in Hamilton Beach

From the Daily News:

Many southern Queens homeowners whose belongings and houses were destroyed by the wrath of Superstorm Sandy are still living without heat.

Some residents of Hamilton Beach, a community of one- and two-story homes bordering Howard Beach and JFK Airport, said Wednesday that water gets into their National Grid gas lines every few days — knocking out the service they need for heat, hot water and cooking.

“We’re very frustrated,” said New Hamilton Beach Civic Association President Roger Gendron. “We just feel that after all of these months, a solution should have been reached by now.”


Gary Robertson, 36, said that since the storm he often wakes up in the middle of night “freezing.”

“Every two or three days, I have water in my gas line and my heat kicks off,” said Robertson, whose home flooded with about five feet of water during Sandy. “I’ve had days where my house was 35 degrees.”

He said he calls National Grid several times a week, is on hold for 15 to 20 minutes and then someone is sent to his home to confirm there is a problem.

But it can take days before the utility sends a truck out to pump bottled gas flush into his line to flush the water out of it, he said.

“It’s disgusting,” he said. “I’ve had so many hardships from this storm ... and to have to deal with this, as well as everything else, is extremely frustrating.”

1 comment:

Joe in Richmond Hill said...

If water is getting into the gas lines, is gas seeping out at the point of entry? If so there could be a dangerous situation.
I feel sorry for the residents without gas. They may try using some electric heater-the oil filled radiators are the safest and best overall in my opinion. A few are good for everyone to have for central heat break downs.