Astoria Houses residents can cook hot meals again after 3 month outage

 

 Queens Eagle

Cooking gas was finally restored for residents of the Astoria Houses Thursday, after a nearly three-month outage left them unable to use their stoves or ovens. 

Nearly 50 units in the NYCHA apartment complex were left without gas beginning September 23, forcing them to rely on hot plates, takeout or support from the local community.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris introduced legislation in October to reduce the rent for public housing tenants who lose their utilities, including gas. 

“While I am pleased these residents now have service restored, this whole episode represents an unacceptable failure from NYCHA. Rent-paying tenants deserve better,” Gianaris said.

NYCHA said workers cut the main gas valve due to a leak. The repair process took weeks to complete because it required multiple steps further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a NYCHA spokesperson told the Eagle in October. 

A tale of two Astorias

 

Queens Patch

Volunteers are helping Astoria Houses tenants get cooking as they approach nearly two months without gas in their kitchens.

Queens Together, a local organization dedicated to restaurant advocacy and community service, led a team of volunteers and elected officials distributing crockpots and grocery items Sunday to the dozens of families in the NYCHA complex who have had no cooking gas since Sept. 23.

The outage is affecting 48 apartments, a NYCHA spokesperson told Patch last month. It's unclear when gas service will be restored.

"Where NYCHA has let residents down, the Astoria Houses community has stepped up," City Council Member Costa Constantinides said in a statement. "A gas outage should not take away our neighbors' ability to celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in family recipes and celebration."

Since the outage was first reported, NYCHA provided residents with hot plates and is making unspecified "additional contingency measures," the agency said.

  Queens Patch 

 Fourteen apartments in a new Astoria building have hit the city's "affordable" housing lottery, but prospective tenants must make at least $70,000 a year to be eligible, records show.

Applications are open through Dec. 4 for a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in a new residential building rising at the corner of 31st Avenue and 21st Street, according to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The one-bedroom apartments will rent for $2,050 a month, and the two-bedroom apartments will cost $2,500 in monthly rent.

Apartments come with in-unit laundry, and building amenities include an elevator and gym. Parking will be available for an additional fee.

The developer is slated to receive tax breaks in exchange for building the "affordable" units.

Gas outage continues at Astoria Houses