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Contractor cuts natural gas line instead of steam pipe.

450 Winbrook residences lose stoves and hot water for estimated 36 hours.

9 plumbers working way through building capping gas lines before gas can be turned on. More plumber help is on the way, according to city hall.

City intervenes to aid WP Housing Authority in getting apartment dwellers' gas back online.

Residents given $10 a meal allowance from Housing Authority.

Special to WPCNR from the Mayor's Office.

By John F. Bailey

CityLine: July 29, 2001 -- Winbrook Housing Complex

A contractor employed by the White Plains Housing Authority mistook a gas line for a steam pipe between 12 noon and 1 PM today, cutting off cooking facilities and hot water for 450 residences at the Winbrook Complex, according to the Mayor's Office.

As of 7 PM Monday evening, George Gretsas, the Mayor's Executive Officer, told WPCNR that 9 plumbers assembled by the city and contracted for by the White Plains Housing Authority, and were working their way from apartment to apartment to cap the gas lines in each residence.

Gretsas said that when a gasline is severed, each individual line has to be capped before gas service has to be restored. The Mayor's Executive Officer reported that Consolidated Edison had told the city that it would be 7 to 9 days before repairs could be made to bring all the apartments back on line.

"We said, that's not good enough," Gretsas told WPCNR, and the city worked with the Housing Authority to assemble a plumbing "Cap Team" to shut off each apartment gas line. Gretsas told WPCNR that it takes a plumber approximately 30 minutes to cap each line. He also said the city and the Housing Authority expected to have more plumbers on the "capping" job (up to 12) by Tuesday morning. At that rate with 12 plumbers on the job, Gretsas estimated that the gaslines could be capped within 18-1/2 hours and hoped the gas could be back on "within a day and a half."

Gretsas said it was city policy not to comment on what security procedures were in effect, but did say that electricity was still on in the complex.

Asked how the mistake could have happened, Gretsas said "It is my understanding that the two pipes delivering gas and steam were identically wrapped. The contractor realized when he severed the pipe that he had severed the gasline when the escaping gas extinguished his blowtorch."

As of 5:30 PM, Gretsas reported to WPCNR that the White Plains Housing Authority was granting $10 per person vouchers to residents for taking meals outside the complex while the gas service was out.


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