Bushwick Tenant Pleads Mayor For Help About Building Without Gas

BUSHWICK, NY — A beleaguered Bushwick building has gone without cooking gas for more than a year, leading one frustrated neighbor to seek help from Mayor Bill de Blasio after several complaints to the city.

Lyric Thompson called into WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show" Friday morning to plead the mayor for help for residents of 1362 Decatur St., a building that city records show is riddled with hazardous violations.

"There's elderly people in the building, there's children in the building," said Thompson, who lives across the street from 1362 Decatur. "Can you help us out in getting cooking gas restored at 1362 Decatur?"

"I'm really glad you called in," de Blasio responded. "What you’re dealing with — I want to get this resolved for your building immediately."

Thompson said that the six-unit building, located between Knickerbocker and Irving avenues, lost its gas 18 months ago after a "safety sweep" uncovered a gas leak that she said was caused by the landlord "hacking" the line.

"That safety sweep found a gas leak that could have taken out half the block," Thompson said. "Thankfully, it was caught, the gas was shut down."

The landlord, whom records identify as Eli Yadid, did not immediately return Patch's calls to phone numbers listed under his name. But city records back up Thompson's claim that conditions in the Bushwick building are hazardous.

The Department of Buildings found evidence of illegal gas work in the building in 2018 and has since issued a vacate order for the basement and 11 open violations, including construction without permits, records show.

The building's owner and plumber filed permits in September 2018 and in May of this year to correct the violations to turn the cooking gas back on, the DOB said.

As of Friday, the vacate order remained in effect and the owner had not requested the inspection required before the cooking gas can be turned back on, according to the DOB.

The prewar apartment building has also racked up 194 violations from the Department of Housing Development and Preservation, including include loose bricks, defective roofing and leaks, city records show.

There are so many violations that it's been put into HPD's Alternative Enforcement Program, which is reserved for "severely distressed" multifamily properties that have a large amounts of hazardous building violations.

An HPD spokesperson told Patch that the department has conducted emergency repairs at the building and plans to bring back gas service, but did not specify when.

De Blasio promised Thompson that landlords will be held accountable.

"First of all, the landlord tampering with the lines, that's really dangerous," the mayor said. "We know that’s led to tragedies in the past."

Correction: This story has been updated to note that Lyric Thompson lives across the street from 1362 Decatur St., not in the building. It has also been updated with Thompson's last name.