Another day, another gas-service issue

Another day, another gas-service issue with a building managed by AJ Clarke, this one on Seventh Street, and "just in time for Christmas," per an anonymous reader who shared this notice dated yesterday...



Yesterday, we noted an AJ Clarke building on Ninth Street where tenants were left without gas for cooking. Here, the heat and hot water were also shut off, though management hopes to get it back on "within a day or two." However — "the process to restore the cooking gas service is long and arduous."

Residents in the Ninth Street building were told they would be given credit for the purchase of a hot plate.

And here? "No mention of any hot plate reimbursements, heater reimbursements, takeout stipends, or the like," said the reader.

According to Streeteasy, the average rent in this Seventh Street building is $3,300 a month.

An explanation about the disruption in gas service

You hear enough stories about gas service for cooking being shut off for months at a time around here (examples here and here and here).

The landlord (AJ Clarke RE) provided residents at this East Ninth Street building (Super Eddie's!) with an explanation of what was happening ... with a timeline when things might be back in service... and why it could take so long:

So, with the gas shut off and the risers not passing the pressure test (most buildings in NYC, unless fairly new, will not pass the test), it is going to be probably several months until the cooking gas is turned back on. This is due to the procedure that has to follow: Proposals have to be given for the re-piping, permits have to be applied for, the actual work has to be done, and the most time consuming part of the puzzle: DOB & Con Edison inspections.

The explanation is more than some residents in other buildings receive (silence) ... some residents I've talked to in the past feel as if landlords need to do more for tenants than provide (or pay for) a hot plate. Maybe a little $$$ for some take out.

H/T Steven

Previously on EV Grieve:
How much of a rent discount for not having gas for cooking?

A note from super Eddie

Welcome home.



Photo on Ninth Street yesterday by Steven.

PS
Because someone will ask — this is not one of the buildings on the block owned by Jared Kushner that have had other reported issues.

7th Street building residents leaving flyers noting how long they've been without gas for cooking

[Photo Sunday by Steven]

Some residents at 95 E. Seventh St. have been posting flyers noting how long it has been since they've had gas for cooking in this building between Avenue A and First Avenue... (today marks Day 193)...


[Photo Sunday by Steven]

According to public records, the building sold last September for a little more than $6 million. It had been one of the numerous East Village properties owned by Morton Tabak and Co. (This is one of the 16 East Village buildings that Raphael Toledano purchased last fall.)

A resident told us that Brooklyn-based Halt Management is in charge of the building now.

Per the resident: "Our beautiful, late 19th-century tenement has been abused and destroyed during the seven months of construction with the goal of creating 'luxury units' out of the few vacant spaces." (They've also been without a super, per the resident.) There are several complaints on file with the DOB in recent days, including one from last Thursday noting "the walls are cracking and tenants are fearful for their safety."

The resident says that the management company has provided them with hot plates, and that, in total, they've received $150 in rent abatements.


[Reader submitted photo]

Updated noon

An EVG reader shared this photo... festive balloons with the No Gas message...

Resident report: 1 month without gas for cooking at 22 St. Mark's Place

Back in late December, Mamoun's had to close for more than a week at 22 St. Mark's Place due to a problem with the building's gas line.

Per Mamoun's Facebook page: "Con Edison shut off our gas at the Saint Marks location because of a gas leak at the building. Our line was not affected but they shut it off anyway. We cannot get con edison to come back and turn it back on because of their huge bureaucracy!"

The gas returned Jan. 4. However, the rest of the tenants in the building haven't fared as well. A resident of 22 St. Marks Place, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, said that tenants have been without cooking gas since the end of December (they do have hot water and heat).

Per the resident: "The building is doing very little to solve the problem ... and will not answer any real questions.

Yesterday, the landlord's reps apparently said that Con Ed would be by to "fix the problem." However, the residents were told that they needed to be at home during the day so Con Ed could access their apartments.

"People organized their schedules to work from home or took the day off."

No one from Con Ed ever arrived.

Meanwhile, according to the resident, the management company — NBKM Realty Management Corp. — is providing information contradictory to that of Con Ed. And the landlord is not offering any abatement for the lack of cooking gas for the past month.

On previous posts, readers offered advice on this all-too-common problem here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How much of a rent discount for not having gas for cooking?

Residents of 97 E. Seventh St. haven't had gas for cooking since Feb. 19