Tuesday, April 16, 2024

La La Laundry looking for some help after 3 weeks without gas

Multiple EVG readers have reported that La La Laundry — and the whole building on the NW corner of 11th Street and Avenue B — has been without gas for their dryers since March 26. 

Management explained what happened: 
[O]n March 26th, a routine maintenance task took a harrowing turn. An elderly mechanic, entrusted with welding duties in our boiler room, suddenly felt unwell, prompting a call to 911. Responders, fearing a gas leak, urged the shutdown of the boiler's gas supply. 

However, a fateful misstep by a Con Ed worker resulted in the cessation of gas to the entire building, despite NO leak being found within our premises. 

What ensued was a three-week ordeal, a labyrinth of bureaucratic red tape and financial strain. We, the stalwart team of La La Laundry, found ourselves thrust into a whirlwind of regulations and demands with NO support from our building management. Every resource was poured into compliance efforts, draining our coffers and leaving other bills in limbo. 
They hope a Department of Buildings inspection today will result in a Revised Gas Certificate (aka, Blue Card) for service restoration. 

Back to management: 
But even as we prepare to reopen, a new challenge looms large: the daunting specter of financial recovery.  
We had envisioned La La Laundromat not merely as a business but as a sanctuary — a place of solace and community spirit. Yet, the road ahead is fraught with uncertainty. It is with humility and gratitude that we turn to you, our cherished patrons, for support in our time of need.
La La Laundry, a business that includes a plant store and a cleaning service, launched a GoFundMe on Sunday. You can find the link here.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there anything our local politicians can do to help?

Carlina Rivera
District Office
254 East 4th Street
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
212-677-1077 phone

Can anyone be held accountable for negligence?

Anonymous said...

We are long time customers of the establishment and their closure has definitely had a negative impact on those of us in the immediate vicinity who have come to rely on them. However we're not sure the overly florid language is helping their messaging. It's difficult to tell if the call for help is even serious because the writing is so over the top. We want them back in business too but they are the corner laundry place not the Taj Mahal.

Anonymous said...

Can confirm from experience that their managing agent, Cornerstone, is useless. Time to switch.

Anonymous said...

I have been doing my laundry in this lovely space for years. The staff is always warm and helpful too. I actually visited last week and was informed of this ongoing issue. I truly hope the inspection is successful and offers them permission to reopen. It must be frustrating for this business, especially when it was no fault of their own. I disagree with the messaging from 8:22 because this is a dire situation with unusual circumstances. Any type of assistance at this point is beneficial for their current plight and for our community who desperately needs this spot.

Anonymous said...

Agreed! Smells like A.I. and feels a bit thick. Hope they get through this, tho. Business is a struggle to balance in the best of times.
Good luck to them.

David S said...

Unless somebody has friends in high places with top connections inside Con Ed, this building isn't going to be getting gas anytime soon.

Anonymous said...

It is an outrage - and it ought to be illegal - that ConEd can turn off all the gas in a split-second, but then the "process" (if you can even call it that, b/c it is so completely opaque & arbitrary at various points) can drag on for weeks, months, or years.

NYC should have a LAW that says: if ConEd shuts off the gas, then from the time repairs have been made (or if it is found that repairs are not actually necessary as in this case), ConEd has a week to SHOW UP AND DO AN INSPECTION.

ConEd is a monopoly we're all forced to deal with.

ConEd has no incentive to move faster than molasses in January. This is WRONG, and there needs to be a law regarding this.

If it takes ConEd more than a week to inspect after repairs are done, then ConEd should be financially penalized to the hilt.

Anonymous said...

Go for it, 3:25. Start making this law happen.

Anonymous said...

lol @8:22

Anonymous said...

Yup, good luck dealing with Con Ed.