Gas Restored at 17 Developments Impacting More Than 1,000 Households in Time for Thanksgiving

NYCHA additionally repaired or replaced more than 5,000 stoves in more than 150 developments and, alongside staff and volunteers, is distributing approximately 9,000 Thanksgiving meals at 210 developments

NYCHA announced today that since the beginning of November, gas service has been restored at Breukelen, Coney Island I (Sites 4 & 5), Bland, East River, Gun Hill, Jefferson, Pomonok, St. Nicholas, Throggs Neck, Wagner, Boston Secor, King Towers, Tilden, Melrose, Queensbridge South, Kingsborough, and Parkside Houses, impacting more than 1,000 households. Since the end of October, NYCHA staff also repaired or replaced more than 5,000 stoves in more than 150 additional developments to date and will continue this effort throughout the holiday season. Additionally, more than 80 staff and volunteers are distributing approximately 9,000 meals to residents with current gas outages or non-working stoves, as well as residents with recently restored gas service or recently repaired or replaced stoves.

“NYCHA is grateful to our partners, our staff and our many volunteers who have worked hard this Thanksgiving to ensure residents are able to celebrate with their families,” said NYCHA Interim Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “Gas service outages are a matter of safety, but we are doing everything in our power to restore service, repair stoves and distribute food so that no one has to go without for the holiday.”

NYCHA began the extraordinary effort to repair or replace as many stoves as possible prior to Thanksgiving on October 27. NYCHA currently has more than 120 Plumbers and Supervisor Plumbers who are fully gas qualified and working on gas restoration and stove replacements; NYCHA also has a Citywide contract for the sole purpose of gas service restoration.

“Without the commitment and dedication of our staff and partners, none of this would be possible,” said NYCHA Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble. “I am proud of the way our community has rallied together this Thanksgiving and the hard work and time our staff, partners and volunteers have put into providing something good for our residents during the holiday.”

NYCHA partnered with Food Business Pathways vendors, the NYC Hospitality Alliance, the Fund for Public Housing and local restaurants to provide approximately 9,000 meals; more than 80 volunteers helped deliver them in all five boroughs. Residents were able to choose a turkey- or chicken-based meal or a vegetarian meal.

The Food Business Pathways program, a business accelerator program operated by NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability, provided nearly 5,000 meals. The program provides free food business training to help NYCHA residents and Section 8 voucher holders reach their dreams of starting or growing their own businesses.

Food Business Pathways vendors included Cornel’s Catering, Bernadette’s Place, 6ix Catering, Sabor Restaurant and Bakery, Cooking with Corey, Andy’s Daughter Catering, and Quiafua’s Kitchen.

The Fund for Public Housing partnered with the NYC Hospitality Alliance, which worked with local restaurants to provide an additional 1,400 meals for families. Restaurants donating meals included The Rockaway Hotel, Rustik Tavern, Mexology, Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, Fusion East, etc. venues, Nneji and Safari Restaurant.

“Gratitude to the NYC Hospitality Alliance and the many restaurants that answered a call for action by providing over one thousand meals to NYCHA families this Thanksgiving,” said Fund for Public Housing Executive Director Alex Zablocki. “As we come together to break bread and give thanks, we are grateful for these efforts and that of volunteers, and reminded of the power of partnership and community.”

“I’m grateful for our local restaurants who quickly answered the call to act and give hot meals for our neighbors in need this Thanksgiving,” said NYC Hospitality Alliance Executive Director Andrew Rigie. “Thanks to their support, one request to a few small business owners resulted in 1,400 donated meals being delivered to families across New York City. It’s action like this that speak to the power and purpose of the Alliance but more importantly, the generosity of restaurateurs in our city.”

Gas service interruptions and restoration work are a matter of public safety and involve multiple partners and steps, including shutting off the gas service, making necessary repairs, inspections and coordinating with the service vendors, in order to safely restore service as quickly as possible.

NYCHA provides hot plates and slow cookers to residents during gas service interruptions, and NYCHA staff regularly provide residents with updates on service restoration progress. Gas service interruptions affect cooking gas only and are unrelated to heat or hot water service.

Photo caption: Thanksgiving meals distribution in 2021.