Article by Brownstoner.com
March 17, 2009
PACC Catches Heat for Lack Thereof at 277 Gates Avenue
In the last two decades, the Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) has developed over 600 units of affordable housing in more than 60 buildings around the borough of Brooklyn, building a good reputation in the process. Now, however, a group of tenants at 277 Gates Avenue, one of the group's hallmark projects, is calling foul over persistent heating problems and other quality of life issues. A Daily News article earlier this month detailed claims of the tenants association that the building has been without heat for days at a time this winter, as it has in past winters. "[The boiler] never really ran the way it was supposed to," concedes PACC's property manager Stephanie Blue in the article. We contacted PACC's head Deb Howard who told us that PACC is in the process of getting the NYC Housing Development Corporation to approve the replacement of the boiler, a move that's necessary because it requires dipping into reserves held in escrow at HDC; HDC's engineers are scheduled to do a site visit today. In a recent blog post, the president of the tenants association also cites problems with sex workers using the bathroom in the laundry room, a charge that Howard says PACC addressed last year when the problem was first raised by installing a new lock on the laundry room door and telling tenants to call the police if they saw anything suspicious. "We are a member of the FTAP program and have agreed to prosecute any illegal activity occurring on the premises, if the police make an arrest ," says Howard.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
PACC & 5 Days Rent Pro-Ration
277 Gates Avenue Tenants Association
March 12, 2009
Deb Howard
Executive Director
Pratt Area Community Council
201 DeKalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Dear Ms. Howard
In our first meeting with you in December 2005, we discussed the lack of heat in our building. In 2007, the Brooklyn Paper, Model landlord, tenant tough, by Dana Rubenstein, documented that the residents of 277 Gates have not had heat for 2 years. In that article Ms. Howard you admitted to this heating problem. We met with you and Council Member Leticia James in October 31, 2007 and the central point of that discussion was the lack of heat. March 5, 2009 the New York Daily News reported on our lack of heat this winter: Tenants heated, not apts. by Erin Durkin. Twenty out of 34 tenants have stated that they have complained to PACC about the lack of heat and hot water and that they have submitted complaints to 311 since October 2008 (we have a letter sent to you October 23, 2008 about the lack of consistent heat and hot water). Yet PACC management insists that we have only lacked heat for five days in February 2009, and state they have no knowledge of a heating problem outside of those days. Your ‘rent pro-ration’ for 5 days without heat is an insult.
Again the other concerns we would like for you to address:
Security issues:
• Strangers (including sex workers) continue to use the bathroom in the laundry room, we have several unlocked storage rooms, and the back door does not work.
• After having about 5 supers in 5 years, formally inform us who the new supers are and supply them with badges.
Sincerely,
Portia Adams,
President, 277 Gates Tenants Association, Http://277gatestenants.blogspot.com
212 636-6675, 917 627-2415
poadams@fordham.edu
cc: State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
Assembly Person Hakeem Jeffries
Council Member Leticia James
Council Member Al Vann
March 12, 2009
Deb Howard
Executive Director
Pratt Area Community Council
201 DeKalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Dear Ms. Howard
In our first meeting with you in December 2005, we discussed the lack of heat in our building. In 2007, the Brooklyn Paper, Model landlord, tenant tough, by Dana Rubenstein, documented that the residents of 277 Gates have not had heat for 2 years. In that article Ms. Howard you admitted to this heating problem. We met with you and Council Member Leticia James in October 31, 2007 and the central point of that discussion was the lack of heat. March 5, 2009 the New York Daily News reported on our lack of heat this winter: Tenants heated, not apts. by Erin Durkin. Twenty out of 34 tenants have stated that they have complained to PACC about the lack of heat and hot water and that they have submitted complaints to 311 since October 2008 (we have a letter sent to you October 23, 2008 about the lack of consistent heat and hot water). Yet PACC management insists that we have only lacked heat for five days in February 2009, and state they have no knowledge of a heating problem outside of those days. Your ‘rent pro-ration’ for 5 days without heat is an insult.
Again the other concerns we would like for you to address:
Security issues:
• Strangers (including sex workers) continue to use the bathroom in the laundry room, we have several unlocked storage rooms, and the back door does not work.
• After having about 5 supers in 5 years, formally inform us who the new supers are and supply them with badges.
Sincerely,
Portia Adams,
President, 277 Gates Tenants Association, Http://277gatestenants.blogspot.com
212 636-6675, 917 627-2415
poadams@fordham.edu
cc: State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
Assembly Person Hakeem Jeffries
Council Member Leticia James
Council Member Al Vann
Sunday, March 8, 2009
New York Daily News Article!
see article titled Tenants heated, apts. not
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/03/05/2009-03-05_tenants_heated_apts_not.html
Tenants heated, apts. not
BY Erin Durkin
DAILY NEWS WRITER Thursday, March 5th 2009, 10:47 AM
Their landlord is a leading tenants rights group, but residents at a Bedford-Stuyvesant building say they've been left out in the cold.
Residents of 277 Gates Ave., which is owned by the Pratt Area Community Council, charged they've been without heat for days at a time this winter.
"You wake up in the morning and the walls are icy, the floors are icy," said tenants association President Portia Adams, adding the building has had the same problem in past winters. "They're very apologetic, but they don't fix it.
"When I moved in, I went to this nice little office, and they had all this tenants' right stuff," Adams, 50, said. "They act like a slum landlord."
Melicca McCormick, 38, said heat in her apartment went out for four days during her kids' school vacation. When she called to complain, she got a full voicemail box. "When you can't reach anybody and your children are turning blue, it's very frustrating," she said. "It's almost as cold as outside," added daughter Maya Sequira, 7.
Roosevelt and Roberta Philippe bought three space heaters to keep their apartment warm, and they bundle up their 3- and 7-year-old kids in hats and sweaters. They said the hot water goes out frequently as well.
"This winter, it's completely out of control," Roberta said. "We've been going weeks with maybe only an hour of heat during the coldest days. ... It's not excusable anymore."
The 6-story, 35-apartment building, which contains a mix of low-income and market-rate units, is one of 57 buildings managed by PACC. The group also does tenant organizing in Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
PACC property management director Stephanie Blue said the problem was a malfunctioning energy-efficient boiler and heat sensors from the state's Energy Research and Development Authority.
"It never really ran the way it was supposed to," she said, adding PACC is now shopping for a new boiler, which should be installed in the next two weeks.
Though some tenants say they've complained repeatedly during the winter about the lack of heat, Blue insisted the problems were limited to a few outages last month.
"To say all winter is just a fabrication. It's not so," she said.
"We care about our tenants, and we are doing everything possible to make sure they're comfortable and happy," she said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/03/05/2009-03-05_tenants_heated_apts_not.html
Tenants heated, apts. not
BY Erin Durkin
DAILY NEWS WRITER Thursday, March 5th 2009, 10:47 AM
Their landlord is a leading tenants rights group, but residents at a Bedford-Stuyvesant building say they've been left out in the cold.
Residents of 277 Gates Ave., which is owned by the Pratt Area Community Council, charged they've been without heat for days at a time this winter.
"You wake up in the morning and the walls are icy, the floors are icy," said tenants association President Portia Adams, adding the building has had the same problem in past winters. "They're very apologetic, but they don't fix it.
"When I moved in, I went to this nice little office, and they had all this tenants' right stuff," Adams, 50, said. "They act like a slum landlord."
Melicca McCormick, 38, said heat in her apartment went out for four days during her kids' school vacation. When she called to complain, she got a full voicemail box. "When you can't reach anybody and your children are turning blue, it's very frustrating," she said. "It's almost as cold as outside," added daughter Maya Sequira, 7.
Roosevelt and Roberta Philippe bought three space heaters to keep their apartment warm, and they bundle up their 3- and 7-year-old kids in hats and sweaters. They said the hot water goes out frequently as well.
"This winter, it's completely out of control," Roberta said. "We've been going weeks with maybe only an hour of heat during the coldest days. ... It's not excusable anymore."
The 6-story, 35-apartment building, which contains a mix of low-income and market-rate units, is one of 57 buildings managed by PACC. The group also does tenant organizing in Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
PACC property management director Stephanie Blue said the problem was a malfunctioning energy-efficient boiler and heat sensors from the state's Energy Research and Development Authority.
"It never really ran the way it was supposed to," she said, adding PACC is now shopping for a new boiler, which should be installed in the next two weeks.
Though some tenants say they've complained repeatedly during the winter about the lack of heat, Blue insisted the problems were limited to a few outages last month.
"To say all winter is just a fabrication. It's not so," she said.
"We care about our tenants, and we are doing everything possible to make sure they're comfortable and happy," she said.
The constant lack of heat throughout the years
Dear tenants,
did you receive a 5-day discount on your rent this month? Do you think it is enough? I think it will barely cover the electric bill increase due to the use of electric heaters. It does not compensate us for the constant lack of heat throughout the years and especially during these last months, nor for the physical and psychological stress this problem has caused to all of us, and certainly not for the safety risk involved in heating our apartments with gas stoves. I'm debating whether to pay this month's rent at all. This problem should have been taken care of by now and PACC should be held accountable for not doing so.
Regards,
Roberta Philippe (Apt.6E)
did you receive a 5-day discount on your rent this month? Do you think it is enough? I think it will barely cover the electric bill increase due to the use of electric heaters. It does not compensate us for the constant lack of heat throughout the years and especially during these last months, nor for the physical and psychological stress this problem has caused to all of us, and certainly not for the safety risk involved in heating our apartments with gas stoves. I'm debating whether to pay this month's rent at all. This problem should have been taken care of by now and PACC should be held accountable for not doing so.
Regards,
Roberta Philippe (Apt.6E)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
PACC's response to Roberta's post
This is the the reply I just received from Deb Howard:
Dear Roberta, I have been in contact with maintenance staff regarding this issue, last week and over the weekend. Up until Saturday morning the boiler was being manually operated to try and compensate for the coil which had broken and needs replacing and is on order (for $9,000), hence the sporadic heat over the last week. However, on Saturday morning the starter box broke down and there were no replacements available at any of the supply houses which is why you have had no heat since then. The Maintenance Director is at the building with the engineer now and we are making the decision this morning probably in the affirmative to replace the whole boiler as this one has been nothing but trouble since it was installed and it is no longer under warranty. The irony is that there was a perfectly good boiler in the building when we first bought the building but to get the NYSERDA grant during the construction, we were required to put in a new energy efficient boiler at a cost of $41,000 and what a nightmare it has been! We are also checking with the lender to see what reserves are available for such a purpose although PACC will front the expense to make sure the replacement can happen quickly.
I know that does not in any way appease your frustration or your concern for your family’s or other tenants’ health and safety but please know that we are working hard to resolve the problem. I will be discussing further the issue of compensation with the property management staff.
Deb Howard
Executive Director
Pratt Area Community Council
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
(718) 522-2613 x 18
(718) 522-2604
Dear Roberta, I have been in contact with maintenance staff regarding this issue, last week and over the weekend. Up until Saturday morning the boiler was being manually operated to try and compensate for the coil which had broken and needs replacing and is on order (for $9,000), hence the sporadic heat over the last week. However, on Saturday morning the starter box broke down and there were no replacements available at any of the supply houses which is why you have had no heat since then. The Maintenance Director is at the building with the engineer now and we are making the decision this morning probably in the affirmative to replace the whole boiler as this one has been nothing but trouble since it was installed and it is no longer under warranty. The irony is that there was a perfectly good boiler in the building when we first bought the building but to get the NYSERDA grant during the construction, we were required to put in a new energy efficient boiler at a cost of $41,000 and what a nightmare it has been! We are also checking with the lender to see what reserves are available for such a purpose although PACC will front the expense to make sure the replacement can happen quickly.
I know that does not in any way appease your frustration or your concern for your family’s or other tenants’ health and safety but please know that we are working hard to resolve the problem. I will be discussing further the issue of compensation with the property management staff.
Deb Howard
Executive Director
Pratt Area Community Council
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
(718) 522-2613 x 18
(718) 522-2604
We've had hardly any heat in our apartment for over a week now.
We've had hardly any heat in our apartment for over a week now. The notice posted by the property management after days of complaints, asking for our patience while they wait for the part to be replaced in the boiler was infuriating. I called 311 on Saturday (complaint #4645002) and just wrote a message to Deb Howard, PACC director. This is the content of my message:
Dear Ms Howard,
I am one of the tenants of the PACC managed building on 277 Gates Avenue and I am writing to call your attention to the heating problems that we have been experiencing in the building for years and that have now become simply intolerable. After months of constant service interrruptions, we have now been without heat for over a week, during some of the coldest days and nights of the year. The property management has posted a notice after days of complaints informing the tenants that they are waiting for a part to be replaced in the boiler and asking for our patience and cooperation. This is no longer a matter of patience and cooperation. It is a matter of serious inefficiency and violation of our basic rights as tenants. Our kids are getting sick and take twice as long to recover from seasonal illnesses and we are forced to warm up our apartments with electric heaters that boost our electric bills and with gas stoves, potentially posing a safety threat to ourselves and others.
I am asking for your intervention to solve this problem at once and to offer the tenants of 277 Gates Ave. compensation for the physical and psychological stress caused by this ongoing problem.
Thank you,
Roberta
Dear Ms Howard,
I am one of the tenants of the PACC managed building on 277 Gates Avenue and I am writing to call your attention to the heating problems that we have been experiencing in the building for years and that have now become simply intolerable. After months of constant service interrruptions, we have now been without heat for over a week, during some of the coldest days and nights of the year. The property management has posted a notice after days of complaints informing the tenants that they are waiting for a part to be replaced in the boiler and asking for our patience and cooperation. This is no longer a matter of patience and cooperation. It is a matter of serious inefficiency and violation of our basic rights as tenants. Our kids are getting sick and take twice as long to recover from seasonal illnesses and we are forced to warm up our apartments with electric heaters that boost our electric bills and with gas stoves, potentially posing a safety threat to ourselves and others.
I am asking for your intervention to solve this problem at once and to offer the tenants of 277 Gates Ave. compensation for the physical and psychological stress caused by this ongoing problem.
Thank you,
Roberta
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