NYCHA residents freeze as temp dips

Residents at Fort Independence Houses are still without heat months after complaining to the New York City Housing Authority.

Despite temporary boilers placed outside the Bailey Avenue complex, tenants there still face blistering cold in the weeks following not only a Jan. 6 feature story in The Riverdale Press, but in new attention from elected officials in the days after like Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, recently appointed chair of the council’s housing and buildings Committee.

“This is not a new problem,” Sanchez said.

“This is decades in the making. I grew up with no heat and hot water conditions, using space heaters to heat our homes, and ovens. We deserve better. Our people matter. We deserve dignity.”

There are nearly 350 apartments at Fort Independence Houses, creating homes for more than 700 people. Many had their heat and hot water service interrupted during some of the coldest days of the year. The mobile boiler has been defective since it was first installed just two months ago, tenant association president Barbara Lauray says. But then again the regular boiler had been problematic for the last several years as well.

Lauray’s biggest fear is that her neighbors may resort to self-help heating — like space heaters — known to cause fires like the one that killed 17 last month in Fordham Heights.

“All they’re doing is Band-Aiding it,” Lauray said. “If a fire breaks out here, there will be a lot of loss.”

Residential real estate transactions

Some of the notable residential real estate transactions as reported through city property records:

• 5955 Delafield Ave. — Tinkat Realty Corp. to Shirley B. Nochmovitz for $1.335 million
• 5245 Fieldston Road — Neil A. Cohen to Deidra R. Moore for $1.395 million
• 4821 Arlington Ave. — Ellen Blye to Michael Buckstein for $1.095 million
• 5714 Mosholu Ave. — Rose Ann Masiello to Mosholu Ave LLC for $995,000
• 5442 Post Road — Benjamin Varki to Raifi Hamdan for $800,000
• 2521 Palisade Ave. — Fern Jaffe Trust to Stephanie E. Mitchell for $887,500
• 716 W. 232nd St. — Marcia Reidy to Benjamin J. Brandler for $1.5 million
• 4617 Waldo Ave. — Ellen Rodman to Michael Austin Smith for $1.5 million
• 4710 Grosvenor Ave. — 4710 Grosvenor Avenue LLC to Jumasa LLC for $1.475 million
• 3113 Kingsbridge Ave. — Jose Roberto Alonzo to Aplus Enterprise Corp. for $2.85 million
• 4721 Delafield Ave. — Christopher M. Colvin to Jeffrey Mah for $2.2 million
• 6007 Fieldston Road — Ronald M. Bergmann to Nena Restrepo-Gil for $1.145 million
• 4481 Douglas Ave. — Jeffrey Mah to Pascal Volle for $1.675 million