Mobile boiler in East Harlem that neighbors said spewed tar-like substance finally removed
NEW YORK -- A mobile boiler in East Harlem that was creating health concerns has finally been removed after years of pressing the city for action.
It was a story covered exclusively by CBS New York's Lisa Rozner.
Back in 2022, residents living on East 102nd Street near Second Avenue showed Rozner the black tar-like substance accumulating all over their homes.
They said it was from the exhaust spewing from the temporary boiler outside the NYCHA Metro North Plaza Houses, which had been placed there after Hurricane Sandy.
Resident Marilyn Morales said she could only clean her home with supplies used for furniture damaged by a fire. A public housing inspection also found her unit failed to meet air quality standards.
In September 2022, NYCHA told Rozner they expected a new boiler to be online within months, but in September 2023, the temporary boiler was still outside and residents told Rozner the problem had gotten worse.
NYCHA then told Rozner that a permanent solution would be in place by the winter, but residents say it wasn't until March that the equipment was finally disbanded and removed.
They say the city ended up also chopping down a tree next to the boiler that had been damaged by the fumes.
Morales told Rozner, "I want to thank you for bringing this horrible situation to an end. The city and NYCHA did not consider the damage and danger we had to tolerate for almost eight years. Had this situation not made the news, the truck would still be there."