Bad news at 37 1/2 St. Mark's Place. Con Ed has shut off gas service to the building, including Dallas BBQ, after discovering a gas leak in the basement here at Second Avenue.
A reader shared these photos, including this note to residents from Kenco Realty Management:
Due to an unexpected gas leak in the basement of our building, Con Edison has shut off the gas supply to the entire building. This is not good news. We tried our best to persuade them otherwise, but because of the explosion across the street, they err on the side of over caution.
And the timeline:
The bottom line is we do not expect to have the hot water restored for days. We do not expect the cooking gas restored for weeks.
Updated 1:30
Gothamist has a statement from a Dallas BBQ spokesperson:
"Unfortunately, the building our restaurant is located in on St. Marks had a scheduled plumbing inspection yesterday and did not pass with Con Ed. We are working to resolve the plumbing violations and pass an inspection as soon as possible. Hopefully, we will be open in the next few days, if not a couple weeks, but it is too soon to tell."
Dear Residents of 37 1/2 St. Mark's Place,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of NYC DOB bureaucracy! I can speak from first-hand experience that this will be a long, drawn-out process.
Signed,
Fellow EV Gas Aficiando
"Con Edison has shut off the gas supply to the entire building...We tried our best to persuade them otherwise" - um, what?
ReplyDeleteYes, please, lets blame coned for being cautious about a gas leak. What could happen?
ReplyDeleteMonths, it could take months to repair. Best of luck and good thing it is summer. Worse if happened in the winter. Any news how it got reported? Did a tenant call it in?
ReplyDelete@ June 16, 2015 at 10:13 AM: I was gonna say the exact same thing. You were quicker. Kudos
ReplyDeleteAs with Stage etc. it is not because of explosion but standard procedure for Con Edision red flag and shut off gas to the entire building, if a leak has been identified.
ReplyDeleteFree electric hotplates for a month !
ReplyDelete@10:07 - The problem is the leak is probably pretty localized. Often a section of piping can be shut down but ConEd will require the entire building to be shut down even when it is not really necessary. This is likely what the managers are referring to.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very informative memo from a landlord, kudos to them.
ReplyDeleteIt is a major inconvenience, but I would rather be alive without gas, knowing the situation is being take care of, and I won't die in a gas explosion!
ReplyDeleteThose attacking ConEd are naive about the extent that they sometimes need to go to in order to make repairs.
...but you must pay your rent & estimated Con Ed bill in full & on time for these months. Then the lawyers will take years to sort this out. Thanks suckers!
ReplyDeleteBut why does it take WEEKS to fix?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the residents of the building, but speaking for fans of good barbecue everywhere, this is a major step forward. They should just switch to doing cheap jumbo frozen drinks only, and forget about food.
ReplyDeleteEvery-time I've eaten at Dallas BBQ I've left leaking gas.
ReplyDeleteHere all evening folks!
No word on this blog about RENT CONTROL laws expired??? Whole neighborhood could go under, en masse.
ReplyDeleteNo MSM media or even localized media coverage of this MAJOR NYC turning point on blogs or alt media? Incredible. 2 million people face evictions from wanton greed realtors, developers and landlords. DONT THINK IT CANT HAPPEN TO YOU. ITS HERE
It takes weeks and months because of NYC Dept of Building rules. And because of course the City would prefer to err on the side of safety rather than convenience with a dash of old DMV style bureaucracy where the wheels turn ever so slowly so everyone has job security. In other words slow going.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it take so long? First you have to hire a contractor. You may have one on retainer. Then you need permits. That will take a week, even if you pay off I mean hire a specialist. Your contractor needs to determine the extent of the job and order parts. In our building, only one plumber worked at a time. That is the cheapo version. But he did good work and put up with difficult tenants. In our building, the plumber had to redo all 20 attachments plus the interior piping and the basement attachments. Then he had to test the whole system to make sure it was sealed. Then they get Con Ed to come inspect the work. Con Ed doesn't race over once they hear the work is done, they have to set up an appointment. If it meets their standard, then in a separate event Con Ed has to come and turn on the gas. Maybe there's another level of permitting in there. It is not a simple part replacement. If this building is lucky, the individual apartments won't need to be touched. Our building was old and probably the original works. I have this monster friggin meter hanging in my apt taking up a corner.
ReplyDeleteMy sympathy to all the tenants of this building who are going to be without hot water & cooking gas. It's not the depth of winter, but I know that's not much consolation.
ReplyDeleteAt least the building management is communicating with the tenants in a non-hostile manner.
The "procedure" for getting gas turned back on in a building in NYC is DMV-esque as envisioned by Kafka. It doesn't HAVE to take forever and a day to get the gas back on, but none of the officials involved in the process appear to have any interest in making it any better.
@Anon 12:47 PM
ReplyDeleteToooo good!
As a property owner - I had a Con Ed owned and installed meter leak. It took seven (7) months for them to install a new one. Yes there was a licensed plumber involved, yes DOB was involved. In the last month Con Ed required three visits to view the 'meter location' and access to view the stove - each time they photographed everything. Luckily I copied my tenant on all the emails to con Ed. Including the ones where they claimed they needed to photograph it each time.
ReplyDeleteQuestion to all long term tenants - when was the last time Con Ed replaced your meter? Answer - never. There policy is that they do not replace meters until they leak. Trust me - I tried.
In the EU all meters are replaced every 5 years - otherwise the energy supplier can't charge for service. They send their own workman who makes all necessary adjustments - and the gas meter is a third of the size of the ones in NYC. Why I wonder?
While there are a lot of older buildings in European cities, they do a much better job maintaining building systems, and they do update the gas meters and other essentials every few years. Here in NYC and especially a neighborhood like the East Village with a lot of old buildings, well, that isn't happening. Systems aren't updated to keep up with the times. Things only get fixed/updated when there is a problem.
ReplyDelete1639 -. Of course you did (NOT) read what I wrote - in NYC it is blame the owner - you are not responding to my question as to why Con Ed refuses to replace meters until they leak? That happens throughout the city not just the EV and is not an owner's fault.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat off the subject - but people use DMV as a stand in for soviet style bureaucracy. I'll just observe that I renewed by license at the DMV license express on 30th street in less than 15 minutes (with an appointment).
ReplyDeleteSo maybe we need a new archetype for unthinking, uncaring bureaucracy - I'm proposing Time Warner or Chase.
It's true, the DMV is a model of efficiency, and the people there know their stuff. It doesn't happen that you get one story from one person, another story from another... That's private companies that do that, not public.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to tenants! We, over at 56 west 11th Strret, have not had cooking gas for a year! Thank you icon!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do about eating at home?! I'm in month 4 and I'm going nuts. Also, did you deduct any payment?
DeleteWell good news for 56 west 11th st as Dept of Buildings has approved authorization for the plumber to go find the gas leak after DOB disapprovals going back to August of 2014.
ReplyDeleteCan we discuss the dissemination of incorrect information via the media when it comes to these situations? According to NY1 (link), ConEd was responding to a report of a gas odor, yet the statement from Dallas states that it was a scheduled inspection. It seems that everyone takes what is reported in the media as gospel and doesn't actually question what ACTUALLY happened.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 3:26PM - You really believe what Con Edison says? The same Con Edison which hired contractors with invalid licenses to install and connect the replacement pipes in Harlem which then exploded? Really?
ReplyDeleteIn this case I can visualize the Con Edison inspector telling the employees of Dallas B-Que one thing and doing another.
You trust Con Edison?
@June 19, 2015 at 7:19 AM - I don't. That's exactly my point! An investigation has shown ConEd at fault in Harlem. I can't wait to see what the investigation finds about ConEd in the East Village fire, yet there seems to be a singular focus of blame... and it's not on ConEd.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the Con Ed work on Ave A between 6 and 7 Street last fall? Suddenly a whiff of gas floats down the avenue and side streets. We run (like fools) toward the smell and see Con Ed workmen cutting an 8 inch gas pipe. I ask - didn't you think of advising the neighbors? Reply - we advised the City. Huh??? What about posting signs on the affected blocks. Reply - but you have gas. Huh??? What about the smell and fear of a gas leak?
ReplyDeleteThat is Con Edison.
Any update on when BBQ will reopen?
ReplyDelete