Dozens Of Astoria Houses Tenants Without Cooking Gas For Weeks

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A gas outage has left dozens of Astoria Houses residents without the ability to cook for three weeks, and they may have to wait weeks longer to turn on their stoves again.

The outage affects 48 apartments in the public housing complex and only applies to cooking gas, not heat or hot water, according to a spokesperson for the New York City Housing Authority.

In response to an emailed list of questions about the outage, the NYCHA spokesperson did not say when gas service would return.

Officials in City Council Member Costa Constantinides' office were told the outage could last as long as 78 days before it's fixed, according to his spokesperson, Terence Cullen.

"Astoria Houses residents deserve better," Constantinides said.

Since the outage was first reported Sept. 23, NYCHA provided residents with hot plates and is making unspecified "additional contingency measures," the agency said.

"The gas service restoration process involves multiple partners and steps and we are currently working with an outside vendor to expedite this process," Nekoro Gomes, NYCHA's media director, said in a statement. "We are regularly providing residents with updates on the progress made towards service restoration."