'Dysfunctional' Boilers At Fort Greene NYCHA Complex Replaced

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A New York City Housing Authority complex in Brooklyn that was once called a "cesspool of dysfunctionality" for its inconsistent heating system finally had its decades-old boilers replaced this week.

The Whitman Houses, a 15-tower NYCHA development on the edge of Fort Greene Park, had four of its 78-year-old boilers replaced, amounting to $18.8 million worth of improvements, the public housing authority announced Wednesday.

Over the past several years, thousands of Whitman residents have reported repeated heating issues, which have left apartments (including those where seniors live) with either too much or too little heat.

In 2019 Mayor Eric Adams (then Brooklyn Borough President) went to the Whitman Houses and talked with neighbors, including Miriam Cruz who said the apartment that she lived in with her 88-year-old mother had no heat, while 72-year-old Mayfield Braan's room was like a sauna, PIXII reported.

That same year, after it was sued by the state for not providing suitable housing, NYCHA signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, agreeing to make necessary changes to its buildings and operations — which these boiler upgrades full under.

"I am so excited to hear that our Whitman Houses will see these vital infrastructure upgrades," said Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest, who represents Fort Greene. "Improving our building management systems to deliver heat and hot water consistently and efficiently has long been a clear need for Whitman and other NYCHA complexes in our district."

The new upgrades at Whitman, which were funded through HUD in partnership with a renewable energy company, include instantaneous water heaters at all 15 buildings, and an update to the Building Management System, which regulates the flow of heat to apartments, NYCHA said.

Temperature sensors, which also help regulate heat, are being installed throughout Whitman's apartments as part of this work, the public housing authority said, noting that thirty percent of homes have the sensors and the rest will be added by the end of this year.

"Heat remains a focal point of NYCHA’s continued efforts to transform," said NYCHA chair and CEO Greg Russ. "We are pleased that the completion of these projects will directly translate to better conditions and quality of life for residents," he added.

The boiler upgrades at Whitman coincide with heating upgrades at Harlem's Taft Houses, which have also been plagued with heating outages.