Mount Vernon tenants say they've been without gas since April
Tenants say their quality of life has decreased because they've been without gas since the end of April.
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Tenants who live at 266 South Fulton Ave. said conditions at their Mount Vernon apartment complex have gone down drastically in the last several weeks.
"It's awful, I have a birthday next week and I don't want to live this way," tenant Shaniece Hollis said.
Tenants, like Hollis, said their quality of life has decreased because they've been without gas since the end of April.
"I haven't heard nothing. All I've been doing is spending my hard-earned money to buy food," Hollis said.
Another tenant sent News 12 a memo from management in April that said Con Edison was contacted because there was a smell of gas.
The memo said that when the company came to access the area, it shut the gas line down for the entire property for safety reasons.
At the bottom of the letter, it said the landlord would give tenants a $50 rent credit if they purchased a hot plate on their own.
"It's small, but it does the job. But, it means that I'm limited when it comes to cooking," another tenant said.
A Con Edison spokesman said they had to turn the gas off because they found leaks in piping inside the building.
They sent News 12 a statement saying, "For us to safely restore, we need building management to hire a plumber to repair the leaks."
Another building memo sent in May from management said they were waiting for city officials to approve a plumber's permit.
The second memo also said tenants could deduct $100 from their rent each month until the cooking gas is restored.
Some tenants said that the deduction wasn't enough, so they decided to stop paying their rent.
"If we hold the rent, then we would think that they would work faster because they would want to get their rent," the tenant said.
While the tenant said rent money is available for her landlord, she said she's not willing to pay until they get answers.
"Communicate with us. Tell us something. We're humans," the tenant said.
News 12 reached out to the management company and the city of Mount Vernon for comments, but didn't hear back.
