Survey: Renters who lacked heat last year are suffering again this year
The same tenants and areas affected by heating issues in 2018 are suffering this year too, according to the report.
New Yorkers' complaints about lack of heat are coming from the same neighborhoods and the same addresses as last year, a new survey finds.
Incredibly, a RentHop survey of calls to the city’s 311 line, found one address, 89-21 Elmhurst Ave., in Elmhurst, Queens, leads the annual complaint list again, with 1,078 calls this season across 50 days.
This year has not been as cold as last year, and there have been fewer complaints overall, but the calls follow a nearly similar pattern as last year. Erasmus, Brooklyn; Mount Hope, Bronx; and Norwood, Bronx were the top three complaint neighborhoods, and both Erasmus and Norwood appeared in the top three last year as well.
Additionally, the calls indicate a strong correlation between rent prices and complaints about heat. In large part, the 10 neighborhoods where New Yorkers are freezing have rents below the NYC median.
“The same landlords in the same areas still aren’t adequately heating their buildings, and the same Department of Housing isn’t doing enough to make sure these people aren’t cold,” the report says.
