More than 800 residents of the near-century old Amalgamated Houses in Van Cortlandt Village are breathing a sigh of relief, as they will avert a planned gas service shutoff that would have taken place this July.
Amalgamated’s general manager Charles Zsebedics told the Bronx Times that a meeting between Amalgamated’s board of directors, the state’s Homes and Community Renewal, the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) and Con Edison determined that the gas service did not have to be shut off to any of the affected buildings unless a future emergency gas condition arises.
Last December, Amalgamated’s contracted plumbing company assessed that “major work” needed to be done to repair the aging gas piping systems in the cooperatives by June 30 of this year, which carries a $6,500-$7,500 price tag per apartment.
Local Law 152 requires the periodic inspection of gas piping systems of all buildings at least once every four years.
According to DOB, property owners and the contracted plumber began submitting these inspection report certifications of the different buildings in late December and in early 2023 — however, DOB said they never ordered Con Edison to turn off gas service that would have affected roughly 827 residents.
State Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz — whose mother and brother were once residents of the complex — told the Bronx Times that he called a meeting between the organizations and the board to clear up confusion on if the gas shutdown needed to happen in compliance with Local Law 152.
“By us getting everybody in the same room at the same time, meaning everyone is talking to everyone, it was agreed that there was nothing imminent that would result in Amalgamated losing gas by July,” said Dinowitz. “The main thing is that we stopped a very bad and, apparently, unnecessary, thing from happening to the residents of about 800 of the apartments in the Amalgamated.”
DOB officials told the Bronx Times that while the plumbing system…
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