92-year-old Parkchester woman pleads for help, 3 months after gas leak forces her to use hot plate
Mary Betrix said she hasn’t been able to use her stove since Dec. 16.
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A 92-year-old woman is turning to News 12 for help after a gas leak in her Bronx apartment three months ago.
Mary Betrix, of Parkchester, said she hasn’t been able to use her stove since Dec. 16.
“I couldn’t have a nice Christmas dinner,” Betrix said. “It hurts me for my son.”
Betrix said she couldn’t cook a Christmas roast for her son, Robert, who was her only child.
Robert was 62 years old when he died from an illness in January.
The mother and son lived together in their apartment, where Christmas decor still dangled from the oven door handle on Friday.
Betrix said Livingston Management handed her a hotplate.
“I can’t broil with a burner or bake with a burner, and the burner doesn’t even fry a hamburger,” Betriz said.
She claimed building management told her it would cost too much money to fix her gas line.
“They’re trying to force an electric stove on me, and I refused it,” Betrix said.
She refused because she’s fond of the features on her gas stove, especially the broiler and self-cleaning oven.
Betrix said the hot plate has changed her shopping habits, and she lost weight from not eating properly.
Betrix told News 12 she’s getting some help from a neighbor, and they’ve called 311 about a dozen times.
“311 was a fiasco,” Betrix said. “You couldn’t get any information from them or really to help you.”
News 12 reached out to Livingston Management for comment.
As of Friday night, they have not responded.
