'Why Should We Live Like This?': NYCHA Residents On Staten Island Say Gas Service Has Been Out For Nearly A Year
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some residents at a Staten Island housing complex say they are facing another holiday without gas for cooking unless the city steps in.
Toi Winfield, a mother of three, has lived at the Stapleton Houses on Staten Island for eight years, but she says the past eight months have been "ridiculous."
"We've been dealing with hot plates and slow cookers,' Winfield told CBS2's Cory James.
That's because she has no gas.
"But y'all want your rent, though," she said.
Winfield says NYCHA gave residents electrical cooking appliances to help -- two countertop devices this working mom says are not enough.
"It's slow. You got to start in the morning ... Watch it all day," she said.
According to city officials, mandatory gas pipe inspections shut off service to 96 units.
A spokesperson would not confirm when the outage will end but said right now they are in the "Asbestos investigation stage of restoration."
In a statement, they added, "While we understand gas service interruptions are inconvenient, we also want to ensure our residents' safety as we work to restore service as quickly as possible."
"They're going home to cook meals. They're going home to provide for their kids and family. Why should we live like this?" neighbor Cenitta Maldonado said.
While some tenants are using things like grills to get by, others are being helped by kind neighbors who lucked out with electric stoves.
"I let them use my oven," neighbor Darren Barnes said. "They're my neighbors. They need me, I'm there."
CBS2 reached out to NYCHA to see how many units have electric stoves and if they plan on putting them in all units to prevent an outage like this from happening again.
NYCHA says they are encouraging residents to continue work order tickets for maintenance needs and service interruptions.