WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn -- Temperatures in the New York City region have been at near-record lows for the past three days, and for that whole stretch, heat and hot water have been turned off, for extended periods of time intermittently, at one public housing project here.
The situation at the Williamsburg Houses was so dire, some residents said, that they wanted the New York City Housing Authority to resume management of the complex, after it had turned over control to a private company three years ago.
According to that private management company, called Wavecrest, a power surge on Friday night, off-site from the complex, caused a malfunction of boilers serving four of the complex's 20 buildings. The boilers were quickly serviced, according to Wavecrest, but another power surge took them out again.
It left residents in the cold. On Sunday, the wind chill was in the single digits outside. Inside, said José Martinez, who takes care of his mother, who's a Williamsburg Houses resident, "She's 85, and she has to put on not only the house clothes," he said, "she has to put on a jacket and a sweater, just to stay warm."
It was not this way, he and other residents said, before the complex underwent extensive renovations last year, that Wavecrest carried out.
Martinez took PIX11 News into his mother's home. Wearing a ski cap, a coat, and layers underneath, he ushered the camera into the bedroom of his mother's housing unit.
"I'm covered," he said. "I walk in here, I feel [the cold]."
That was in spite of the fact that the heat had come back on.
A variety of residents said that the cold had been unbearable over the past weekend, and that they'd expected conditions to never be so severe when the public housing complex's maintenance got taken over by Wavecrest.
"Get it together," said Glenn Aaron, a 19-year resident of the complex. "I pay my rent on time, I'm not a bad tenant," he continued, "and the whole building is cold."
Wavecrest left letters of apology and instruction on the doorstep of each resident's apartment. It gave an email and a phone number for residents to contact with any further questions or concerns. When PIX11 News called the listed number, it was not in service.
An email, however, was returned, along with a phone call. The company issued a statement:
“Wavecrest is dedicated to providing all residents with safe, high-quality housing. On the night of December 20, we were notified of heat and hot water issues impacting four of the 20 buildings at Williamsburg Houses. We immediately enlisted a licensed third-party plumber and electrician to fix the issue caused by a common power surge that shorted out the boiler’s fuses. Heat and hot water were fully restored by the morning of December 21. On the night of December 22, a second power surge further damaged the boiler’s fuses, causing additional heat and hot water issues. Working with the same plumber and electrician, as of this morning (December 23), we have confirmed that heat and hot water are fully restored, and permanent repairs have been completed to prevent future outages.”
