Source: Forgotten NY
June 23, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
After enduring two months without a hot shower or stove-cooked meal, Acropolis Gardens residents have only more blame games to look forward to.
Con Edison shut off the gas in half of the Acropolis’ 16 buildings at the end of April, citing problems with the piping system involving improper and unauthorized hook ups.
Reading from Department of Buildings information, Councilman Costa Constantinides said that Acropolis must fix gas connection lines, faulty meters, hot water connections and a host of other problems before Con Edison can restore gas flow.
For weeks, the Acropolis Gardens’ management company, Metropolitan Pacific Properties, has engaged in a back-and-forth with Con Edison, each blaming the other for the continued shut off. Lawyers for the Acropolis Gardens’ co-op board attended a rally on Monday outside the complex, repeating management’s earlier statements that Con Edison is at fault.
Public Advocate Letitia James, who hosted the rally alongside Constantinides and State Sen. Michael Gianaris, said it is “difficult to get a full story… and who is telling the truth.”
Officials at Monday’s rally were hesitant to lay blame for the gas shutoff on any particular party.
“This is not about pointing any fingers. This is about finding a solution,” James said.
“I’m not here to stand against the management company,” Constantinides said.
However, they went on to align themselves with Con Edison and demand action from Acropolis Gardens.
“Con Edison turned off the gas for the safety of the residents,” the Councilman said. “All we’re asking is for the management company to do the work that needs to be done, that DOB has prescribed.”
“[Residents] deserve speedy repair on any faulty pipes,” James said.
When asked why management had not complied with requirements to get the gas restored, attorney Joseph DeJesu – representing the co-op – said these requirements are continually shifting and “unnecessary.” He argued that Con Edison should instead admit error and turn the gas back on.
“This is 100 percent Con Edison’s fault,” said DeJesu added.
“Building management has been made fully aware of what they need to do,” Con Edison spokesman Sidney Alvarez responded in a statement. “Gas was shut off for the safety of the residents.”
Meanwhile, residents remain stuck in what Nicholas Alexander, who has lived there for five years, called “a complete nightmare.”
Alexander said has been showering at work and cooking on hot plates or at friends’ apartments. He added that he pays $825 per month in maintenance fees, and asked, “where is this money going?”
“It is a terrible, terrible experience, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” Alexander said.
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20 Comments
an actual policy of con ed… if u need to make any repairs and shut off gas (even for an hour) then you need to test all of the pipes in your building under high pressure before they will agree to turn it back on. many of these older buildings do fine under the current low pressure of normal service, but break under high pressure. causing the owners/management to have to break open all the walls in all the apartments to make repairs now.
BUUT.. you can opt to pay con ed thousands of dollars to park a truck in front with gas to provide continuos service and thereby avoid having to test your pipes. can anyone say extortion.
Now does that mean half the multi-family stock build under older building codes is unsafe for gas… likely not (but you should ask an engineer). I’m not saying that you should turn gas on to unsafe conditions, but it’s clear to me (and should be to you) that con ed could care less about anything except their own liability and making money. What’s really sad for everyone is that we don’t have common sense measures here.
oops…someone forgot to pay their extortion money to the local gas monopoly.
It is do sad how those buildings turned out. I grew up there and it was so pleasant and convenient. Raised my 3 kids and booked. What Steve Osman has do e to the complex is a disgrace. There all making money at others expense. As for Steve him and his Family who live large with his Florida Condos and driving his Mercedes while others can’t even eat or shower just makes me sick. He needed to go a long time ago. So sad it’s a terrific location and has gone down in the dumps thank to the Management. Everything is hush hush because if the real truth came out many would hang.
knock it down and start over. Its a prime spot, livable apartments will do very well there
That building is a pig sty.
Whoa… why hasn’t anybody even mentioned the roach, bed bug and water bug problem?
you are certainly correct. i thought it was just my place. my place is neat and clean, yet i’m killing water bugs a few times a week. or cleaning up dead ones. even they can’t stand the acropolis.
Their only positive is its location.
Yeah, that’s how they got me. Close to the train, park and work? Sign me up. The day we moved in, my wife happened to look up reviews on line, and they were not very positive. Then I talked to my cousins who lived in Astoria their entire lives (should have done this first, I know), and they laughed at me until they were red in the face. Apparently, I should have known the place was, is and always will be a shit hole. Jerks…
They’ve been caught red handed by ConEdison for illegal gas hook ups and instead of fixing the lines they have let there residents remain without hot water or gas for now two months.
When you go to the office to bring this up to Mr. Steve Osman is rude and sarcastic when a concerned tenant comes in to get an update on the situation. Astoria’s City Councilman has even called out the management for being negligent. They use shareholders maintenance fees to change and maintain landscaping and fix the “Co-op President’s”, that no shareholder voted for, apartment.
He installed these disgusting green tubing outside of the buildings to replace faulty chimneys. There is no security guards on the grounds, doors that have not worked for more then 7 years, Infestation of straight cats on the grounds, laudry rooms that do not work. Garbage piling up in the front in the building and in between buildings. The list goes on. Not to mention a nephew associate that is clueless and a rude assistant that has no manners as the face of the company and management. Oh yeah, they own acropolis and are the management company to acropolis. A conflict of interest and is probably why so much sketchy operations go on here. Lastly, there is no co-op board bc Steve Osman is the Co-op board, with his nephew and this supposed president no shareholder knows or voted for. Beware of purchase or renting at these grounds.
Almost forgot to mention when asking steve if we are going to receive a discount for living in poor living conditions he said absolutely not and that in fact our maintenance will go up bc of the fixtures they need to make. One word to describe this management company is “SCUMBAGS”. I’ve heard talk that they were going to switch from oil to natural gas as a heating source in the winter. Please save us, sounds like a ticking bomb.
Let’s begin by mentioning any positive reviews on this is obviously coming from the management themselves. They just held a rally against this management company.
They’ve been caught red handed by ConEdison for illegal gas hook ups and instead of fixing the lines they have let there residents remain without hot water or gas for now two months.
When you go to the office to bring this up to Mr. Steve Osman, he is offended by the tenants understandable questions and becomes rude and sarcastic. Astoria’s City Councilman has even called out the management for being negligent. They use shareholders maintenance fees to change and maintain landscaping and fix the “Co-op President’s”, that no shareholder voted for, apartment.
He installed these disgusting green tubing outside of the buildings to replace faulty chimneys. There is no security guards on the grounds, doors that have not worked for more then 7 years, Infestation of straight cats on the grounds, laudry rooms that do not work. Garbage piling up in the front in the building and in between buildings. The list goes on. Not to mention a nephew associate that is clueless and a rude assistant that has no manners as the face of the company and management. Oh yeah, they own acropolis and are the management company to acropolis. A conflict of interest and is probably why so much sketchy operations go on here. Lastly, there is no co-op board bc Steve Osman is the Co-op board, with his nephew and this supposed president no shareholder knows or voted for. Beware of purchase or renting at Acropolis.
He added that he pays $825 per month in maintenance fees, and asked, “where is this money going?”
That is ludicrous that they pay fees almost as much as luxury condos at this low-end co-op complex. Definitely some kick-backing and skimming going on, and for management to point fingers instead of coming to a speedy solution is even more ridiculous, and underscores why me and many others would NEVER move here.
Westway Motel
who in their right mind would rent there?? You can tell its a dump just by the look of it from the outside. You never even have to set foot inside
The management company couldn’t care less about the people living here. They don’t care about no heat or water leaks. This is 100% management fault. The fire in the laundry room is what brought Con Ed’s attention to this. There probably was a fire because the vents weren’t properly maintained (this is speculation). But this place sucks and I can’t wait to move out.
The reason for the fire was because the welders MetPac hired did not use safety curtains and lit dead trees on fire while welding the new chimneys. The laundry room and apartment then caught fire.
Well whatever. I’m not surprised at that either. They probably hired the cheapest person they could find. Either way, they suck
Just re-name it the Acrapolis.
“Con Edison turned off the gas for the safety of the residents,” the Councilman said.”
After that deadly gas explosion in the Village a few weeks ago, Con Ed is doing the right thing. Throw the book at whoever is responsible for the illegal gas conversions.
Slum Lords
It’s all about Steve Osman saving money — illegal hookups = Bronx Explosion revisited. Osman must get in licensed contractors to fix the illegal hookups before Con Ed can turn the gas back on.
The building has over 20 violations with the NYC Dept. of Buildings
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=4&houseno=2177&street=33%20Street&requestid=0&s=A03C41B885B461E4F46BD08866A7430E
Do you job Osman.
I don’t understand why this hasn’t gone to a 3rd party mediation with an outside provider supplied to assure the safety. This is insane for those residents.