BK Residents Without Gas Get $15 Vouchers Before Thanksgiving: Report

EAST NEW YORK, NY — Residents without gas in an East New York Housing Authority development were offered just a $15 gift card to help prepare for Thanksgiving, ABC7 reported.

The Long Island Baptist Houses tenants have been unable to cook without July — short a hot plate provided by NYCHA — and with rain expected ahead of the holiday, the tenants say their heat is insufficient.

Tenants told ABC7 the $15 voucher was insulting and "distasteful."

"One day, to make just white rice, it took me three hours," one tenant told ABC7. "It's very outrageous, and I spoke to the management office, and they told me that there is nothing they can do about it."

Gas outages were reported at 55 NYCHA properties across New York City, according to the authority's website. Heat and hot water outages were reported at 22 NYCHA properties Tuesday.

NYCHA told ABC7 the development's gas was turned off due to a leak in the basement gas main and asbestos abatement, and that processes were underway to restore service.

"Gas service interruptions and restoration work are a matter of public safety and involve multiple partners and steps, including shutting off service, making necessary repairs, inspections and coordinating with service vendors, in order to safely restore service as quickly as possible," NYCHA told ABC7.

NYCHA in July announced it would replace gas stoves in NYCHA-owned buildings with electric induction stoves this fall, according to NY1.

The electrical stoves would be more cost-effective, safe and sustainable, authorities said.