More than 200 without gas in Red Hook, Brooklyn after main struck, councilmember says

More than 200 NYCHA tenants in Red Hook, Brooklyn were without gas on Wednesday evening after a main was struck, officials said.

City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who represents the community, alerted residents on social media of a gas leak at 16 Mill St. after a gas main was struck outside a Read Hook East NYCHA building on Wednesday afternoon. The incident caused street closures and residents in the area reported a strong smell, Avilés said.

FDNY officials said fire and EMS units responded to the call of a high pressure gas main that was struck at around 11:24 a.m. at 465 Columbia St. between Mill Street and Centre Mall in Brooklyn. Con Edison, National Grid, the NYPD and the city Office of Emergency Management all responded to the scene, Avilés said. There were no injuries, according to the FDNY.

The cause of the incident was under investigation on Wednesday night, the FDNY said.

At around 6:30 p.m., Avilés said more than 200 residents had no gas, and her office had reached out to NYCHA for a timeline about repairs.

Con Edison, National Grid and NYCHA did not immediately return requests seeking comment.

“My office has been in touch with NYCHA for a timeline – residents should not be left in the dark and have a right to know ASAP,” Avilés posted on X.

According to the office of Emergency Management, the main had been repaired and pressure tested by Wednesday evening. All affected apartments were provided with hot plates for cooking while distribution service was restored, and all street closures were lifted.

NYCHA residents of the Red Hook Houses have repeatedly dealt with gas outages. In 2021, they were without gas for months, and before that they were hit with gas outages in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020, according to the publication The City.