NEWBURGH— It was standing room only inside Wilhemina Lamb’s Kenney complex apartment in the city of Newburgh on Sunday. For months, Lamb and as many as 50 of her neighbors in the city have not had heat, hot water, garbage collection or snow removal on slippery sidewalks.
“Some people have fallen on the ice,” said Lamb, a retiree who said she has lived at the complex for more than 30 years. “I’m boiling water. I can’t take a bath. I can’t take a shower… I shouldn’t have to be going through this.”
Without heat or hot water, some residents are turning to unsafe temporary solutions like space heaters and using the gas stove for heat, which can cause overexposure to carbon monoxide.
Some residents have issues with falling ceilings. “It’s deplorable — a deplorable state for someone to live in,” said City Councilman-at-Large Robert McLymore.“My biggest concern is to get the heat and hot water turned back on so they can be comfortable in their own home,” he said.
McLymore, a Democrat, organized the meeting and brought together other city, Orange County and state lawmakers seeking to permanently fix problems at Kenny Apartments and nearby Bourne Apartments.
had exclusive access to the meeting where frustration sometimes boiled over. City officials said the matter is complicated by the fact that the apartments are privately owned, limiting how far the city can go without violating constitutional and state laws.
“It doesn’t really matter who owns them, it matters that they take care of the heat issue here. That’s a priority,” said State Senator Rob Rolison (R, Poughkeepsie).
Despite uninhabitable conditions, some residents say they are afraid to make complaints, fearing they will be kicked out over a problem that spans two to three years.
Mid-Hudson News was unable to reach Baum and Kenny Management Group, which manages the Kenny and Bourne affordable housing locations.
“Because this is private property, there are legal matters in which the city can engage through code enforcement and health and safety,” Mayor Torrance Harvey said. “We can’t jump in and pay for a new boiler system with city taxpayer money if it’s not legally permissible.”
Deputy Orange County Executive Harry Porr, himself a Newburgh city resident, said one option under review is declaring a local state of emergency, which could give the city broader authority to intervene. “It gives you more powers and allows you to have the city pay for the repairs and then put a lien against the property.”
Mayor Harvey said city attorneys are reviewing whether such an approach is legally possible.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Tamika Stewart (D-Ward 3) wants the residents she serves to explore all options including bringing in a temporary emergency boiler to restore heat and hot water while permanent repairs are made.
“They rent boilers all the time,” Stewart said. “That is the most urgent fix — pull up a temporary boiler so people can have heat and hot water while the actual boiler is being fixed.”
City officials said the current owners are attempting to sell the property. A potential buyer has been waiting for a decision regarding a long-term payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement that was requested in September. Harvey said the city delayed action on tax incentives until a newly elected council was seated.
As temperatures dip into the teens outside at night, Lamb and fellow neighbors are holding off paying the rent. They have gained money orders and are holding back rent in envelopes that Lamb showed Mid-Hudson News.
For now, the city can only send out code enforcement officers to document and seek to fine the owners. “We are going to stand by our residents [and fight] tooth and nail,” said Mayor Harvey.
Harvey announced a series of upcoming meetings aimed at both immediate relief and longer-term solutions, including a town hall Wednesday at the Newburgh Recreation Center 401 Washington Street at 6 p.m. a working group session on Thursday January 8 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and a formal city council meeting scheduled for January 12 at 7 p.m.
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