New Bill Turns the Heat Up on NYCHA to Restore Gas Outages

On Oct 2, Gov. Hochul signed a bill that aims to speed up NYCHA’s response times to gas outages, along with more transparent communication while service is out.

Introduced by State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Chantel Jackson, the bill, S220B, demands the housing authority present information about any service disruptions by posting notices in lobbies, on its website and during regular meetings with tenants. The main goal is to get service restored “expeditiously,” adding gas to NYCHA’s definition of “vital services” to create “an incentive” for faster fixes, according to the written legislation.

The bill was inspired by residents routinely affected by gas outages that would last days to several months, and sometimes even longer, according to Sen. Myrie. “Public housing residents can’t wait around while the city, utility companies and NYCHA play the blame game,” he said in an email to City Limits. 

The law, he added, establishes “a clear, coordinated plan to cut the red tape and turn the gas back on quickly and safely.”