Some residents of a Queens building say a temporary boiler truck parked outside has become a nearly two-year fixture, emitting smoke they say drifts into their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents expected the boiler to serve as a temporary measure while a steam line was repaired, but they say it remains in place nearly two years later, now scrawled with graffiti.<\/p>\n
Now resident-controlled with its own board, Forest Hills MHA was once a New York City Housing Authority property. Some residents say the transition has left an accountability vacuum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City records show violations for the property, including a boiler fuel leak and unlawful smoke, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in fines. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Yoga instructor Jeana Barenboim is pregnant with her second child and can see the curbside mobile boiler from her front-facing apartment.<\/p>\n
“I’m worrying about what I’m eating and what I’m drinking and all of this stuff, and I cannot control what I’m breathing every single day,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She says the air purifiers she bought have done little to combat the boiler fumes seeping through closed windows.<\/p>\n
“It’s uncomfortable, and it’s disgusting,” she said. “It smells like literal exhaust being blown in your face.”<\/p>\n
She says her family’s doctors have written to building management expressing concern that the emissions could contribute to breathing problems.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what it’s doing to us, and the unknown is so scary,” she said.<\/p>\n
Barenboim says she has submitted repeated requests for an apartment transfer farther away from the boiler. She says her efforts have gotten little traction amid a revolving door of managers.<\/p>\n
“I’ve made multiple complaints to 311,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It is an eyesore. It’s horrible,” resident Janelle Burgess said.<\/p>\n
Residents call it a symbol of broader infrastructure problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“From the cellar to the roof, we need an overhaul,” Burgess said.<\/p>\n
CBS News New York contacted Prestige Management, which took over as managing agent of the property in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Since taking over management, we have been conducting a comprehensive assessment of all three buildings. Our focus has been on prioritizing critical repairs, addressing residents’ concerns, and developing a recovery plan,” Horace Henry of Prestige Management said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Henry said he’s directed there be “a thorough inspection and maintenance of the temporary boiler to ensure it is operating safely and efficiently.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can see the full statement below.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Forest Hills boiler fumes response<\/p>\n