NYCHA Boiler That Exploded Was One of Dozens With Expired Permits

"On October 1, one of those out-of-compliance boilers at Mitchel Houses in The Bronx exploded, causing a 20-story chimney to collapse and send tens of thousands of bricks crashing down to the ground next to a basketball court and near a playground. By some miracle, no one was injured. Investigators believe that the explosion was triggered by gas building up inside an off-line boiler, traveling up the chimney, then igniting when a NYCHA worker flipped the switch to turn on the boiler."

"Nearly a decade ago, hundreds of NYCHA's boilers were completely out of compliance with the city's anti-pollution rules. Only a small percentage had received the required inspection by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Some 70 percent were running without mandated certificates of operation. So NYCHA and DEP signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) requiring the authority to get all its boilers with up-to-date certificates to operate by July 2021."

"But NYCHA officials conceded that the DEP "certificate to operate" for that boiler and seven others in the building at 205 Alexander Avenue had expired in 2009. On the day of the disaster, they had not been inspected by the DEP for 17 years. An analysis by THE CITY of DEP and NYCHA data found the Alexander Avenue boiler that blew up was one of at least 50 boilers scattered around the city in 14 NYCHA buildings operating with expired registrations or certificates to operate."

Nearly a decade ago hundreds of NYCHA boilers were out of compliance with city anti-pollution rules, with about 70 percent operating without mandated certificates. NYCHA and DEP signed a memorandum of understanding requiring all boilers to have up-to-date certificates by July 2021, but the deadline was not met. On October 1 a boiler at Mitchel Houses in the Bronx exploded, collapsing a 20-story chimney and sending tens of thousands of bricks onto the ground; miraculously there were no injuries. Investigators suspect gas accumulated in an off-line boiler ignited when a worker switched it on. DEP and NYCHA data show at least 50 boilers in 14 buildings had expired registrations, and NYCHA acknowledged at least 180 of 1,027 boilers remained noncompliant.

Read at Brownstoner