FEMA to fund new boilers for Sandy-damaged NYCHA buildings
After Superstorm Sandy hit New York, flooding the basements of hundreds of buildings in shoreline communities and knocking boilers out of power, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) installed temporary boilers to provide heat and hot water for tenants.
Nearly 18 months later, the “temporary” boilers are still there.
This proved to be a major problem this winter when the city suffered through numerous snow storms. The boilers, which were funded with money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are located outside the NYCHA buildings, not in the basements. During one particularly severe snow storm, the temporary boiler serving O’Dwyer Gardens in Coney Island was knocked out, leaving hundreds of tenants without heat or hot water.
“It was outrageous,” Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island-Gravesend-Bensonhurst) told the Brooklyn Eagle. Treyger accused the city of using “a band-aid” approach to the problem. “FEMAS is paying $3 million a month for faulty products that don’t work,” he said.