The Legal Aid Society released documents today which reveal utility outages – heat, hot water, and water – continue to plague New York City Public Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents citywide.

For the last heat season, which lasted from October 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, utility outages totaled 3,605 compared to 2,872 from the previous heat season.

Per New York City and State law, NYCHA is obligated to establish and maintain certain housing standards, heat must be provided between October 1 and May 31 when temperatures fall below certain degrees. Hot and cold water must be provided 24 hours a day.

“While NYCHA has made some improvements to mitigate utility outages, residents still suffer lapses in service on a daily basis,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society.

“This moment demands greater attention from Washington, Albany, and City Hall,” she continued. “We call on President Biden, Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams to allocate significant funding to address NYCHA’s capital needs, which is now tens of billions of dollars and growing each and every day.”