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what recourse for inadequate heat?

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what recourse for inadequate heat?

Postby mpb » Sat Nov 24, 2012 2:52 pm

hey peeps!

RS apartment in Brooklyn, we've had to prod and plead and argue about heat for years here. we're on the ground floor, so our apartment is always the coldest. this year though, the heating system was never pressurized properly, we'd only get heat at one end of the apartment. which means the rooms we spend the most time in could be freezing cold.

after Sandy, the LL put us off saying her plumber was busy and we should be grateful we have any heat at all. ok, not really my problem but we waited a while before raising the issue again. she got a plumber in who said the heating system (new gas boiler installed this past spring) had a leak and couldn't maintain pressure. short fix, keep adding water, but this didn't fix the lack of heat in part of our apartment. when i tell her it still isn't fixed, she says the plumber now says it's fine and the other apartments are fine.

i thought the LL was just being lazy and cheap, until today i complained again and she came into the apartment and tried to take a picture in one room, saying that because one pipe in the corner of a room had items in front of it, that was impeding the proper heating of the apartment.

pictures?! really? the heating system doesn't work and she wants to blame it on me?

i'm going to start a "Heat Sheet" and begin calling 311 to report the lack of heat. but is calling 311 really a solution?

i'm paying for electric heat in half the apartment now. i can't tell what that's costing me because the LL has renovated the basement over the last year (illegally) and restricted access, so no meter readings for over a year now. but eventually ConEd is going to have to send me an adjusted bill. can i put rent into escrow to force an abatement?

i've always avoided calling in city agencies as this seemed like the nuclear option. but i'm not going without real heat all winter and being patient doesn't seem to be working.
mpb
 
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