Exclusive: Gun Hill Houses residents without gas yet again

The building has not had gas since March 20, and residents say that outages have happened before. The New York City Housing Authority says a leak in the gas service line is to blame.

News 12 Staff

May 4, 2023, 9:23 PM

Updated 588 days ago

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Residents at the Gun Hill Houses haven’t had gas for two weeks – and that this isn’t the first time they’ve faced this problem.  
For residents at 735 Magenta St., hot plates have become the norm. The building has not had gas since March 20, and residents say that outages have happened before. The New York City Housing Authority says a leak in the gas service line is to blame.  
Gun Hill Houses Tenant Association president Robert Hall says he is working closely with NYCHA to fix the issue, and that he is worried for some of the older tenants in the building – like 29-year resident Carmen Lugo.  
Lugo’s home health aide cooks her diabetic-friendly meals without an oven or stove and says that it feels like a fire hazard.  
“It’s cheap… they knew it wasn’t right,” said Lugo.  
For residents, meals have been distributed the last few days during lunchtime, with food being brought to residents’ apartments since they don’t have gas. They’re hoping that those meals keep coming.  
“I’m going to see to it that this problem goes away,” said Hall.  
NYCHA told News 12 that environmental testing is underway and that the results of those tests will help determine a timeline for the restoration process – something the Gun Hill Houses residents are anxiously waiting for.