Bronx residents still without gas 2 weeks after partial building collapse

More than two weeks after an apartment building partially collapsed in the Bronx, residents still cannot use their stoves to cook.

The boiler room at the NYCHA-controlled Mitchell Houses on Alexander Avenue exploded on Oct. 1, collapsing part of the building. 

Gas was shut off while officials investigated, and neighbors say it still hasn't been turned back on.

"I can't do anything"

NYCHA says it's given out over 1,000 hot plates and slow cookers while they try to restore the gas, but tenants say that's hardly enough.

"I can't cook. I have food in the refrigerator, but I can't do anything," resident Marelene Cintron said.

"They have to do something because a lot of people live here. They're sick," resident Acacia Santiago said.

NYCHA says heat and hot water have been restored at the development overall thanks to mobile boilers parked outside, but they are addressing at least three units reported to be without.

"They said we have heat. We don't have heat," Cintron said.

Tenants say NYCHA isn't answering their questions

NYCHA said in a statement, "NYCHA remains committed to transparency and will take every step necessary to ensure the safety of residents."

But tenants say the agency isn't answering their questions about when gas will be restored.

"There's no updates whatsoever. Everything is just like a matter of they don't know when it's gonna come back, they're working on it," Cintron said.

NYCHA did not answer CBS News New York's questions about when gas will be restored, either.  

Meanwhile, a spokesman for NYCHA said they have started to bring some of the tenants who were displaced by the explosion back to building.