BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP JANUARY 6 - JANUARY 12, 2017 13 Brooklyn renters filing more heat complaints this season BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] Too much chill. According to new data put together using city heat complaint records, New York renters have been experiencing significant shortfalls when it comes to the proper heating of their homes, with Brooklyn leading the boroughs when it comes to increases in the number of heat complaints. Since October 1, the start of New York City’s “heat season” which lasts through May 31, the volume of tenants experiencing insufficient heat in their apartments increased 20 percent from last year’s heat season – a pretty staggering figure when broken down into number of complaints. According to RentHop, the website behind the study, 57,820 heat complaints were logged this October 1 through December 18, whereas last year there were 48,174 complaints. While the Bronx saw the highest density of complaints overall, Brooklyn has seen the greatest increase in complaints, according to RentHop. Bergen Beach /Mill Basin and East Williamsburg have seen the sharpest increases in complaints with 101 complaints this year versus last year’s 42 and 236 versus 108 last year, respectively. Erasmus is Brooklyn’s coldest neighborhood with 523 complaints this heat season. According to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), heat and hot water are required to be provided for all tenants (although based on the particular lease agreement, tenants may be required to pay for gas, fuel or electricity to run heating equipment). In looking at the “heat season” specifically, property owners are required to provide tenants with heat between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees – the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit; and between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. if the temperature outside falls below 40 degrees – the inside temperature is required to be at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. As of Tuesday, January 3, the number of current heat season heat complaints reached 95,605, compared to last year’s 79,143, according to HPD. To file a complaint, dial 311. To see if there are any open heat and hot water violations on your building or to check the status of your heat and hot water complaint, visit hpdonline. Image courtesy of RentHop Local residents petition for all-way stop signs along accident-ridden Avenue P BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] A petition for all-way stop signs to be implemented at intersections along Marine Park’s Avenue P has garnered serious support from local residents after a nine-year-old boy was hit by a car there last month. Started by Brooklyn resident Nachman Mostofsky on StandUnited. org, the petition outlines the dangers of not having an all-way stop sign on the corners of Kimball Street and Ryder Street along Avenue P and is addressed to Marine Park elected officials State Senators Marty Golden and Roxanne Persaud, Assemblymember Helene Weinstein and Councilmembers Jumaane Williams and Alan Maisel. The petition was drafted on the morning of December 9, the same morning the nine-year-old Marine Park resident was run down at Avenue P and Ryder Street after a sedan collided with a box truck, causing it to jump the curb onto the southeast corner of the intersection where the boy was standing. “We are not sure what price the lives of our children are to the bureaucrats making these decisions, but as our elected representatives, it is your responsibility to make them put these signs in,” the petition reads. “These corners are bus stops for many schools, and dozens of children.” With over 1,000 signatures, the petition – which allows signers to state the reason they are signing – hit well over its anticipated goal of signatures. “This is crucial for the safety of all, from our seniors to our youngsters,” wrote local resident Elizabeth F. “Too many accidents, and near misses. The city has to take serious steps to correct these missteps.” “These corners have seen quite a few serious accidents and many close calls in recent years,” added signee Isaac S. “4 way stop signs will definitely make these corners and Avenue P as a whole safer for drivers as well as pedestrians.” Golden told this paper that he is monitoring the situation closely. "We are aware of the traffic safety concerns and the petition, and will be following up with the Department of Transportation regarding this intersection," Golden said. According to Maisel, meetings with DOT have taken place and a solution is in the works. "Assemblymember Helene Weinstein, myself and some people within the community met with DOT in the last week of December and the DOT has promised that they are going to make some changes on Avenue P," Maisel told this paper. "So, we haven’t gotten a final decision as to what they're going to do – they mentioned the possibility of a speed bump, an all-way stop sign is probably going to come in and possibly some day-lighting, but I'm looking forward to getting a definite answer within the next week or two." FOR MORE NEWS, VISIT WWW.BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM “This is crucial for the safety of all, from our seniors to our youngsters." -- Local resident Elizabeth F.
BSM01052017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above