Red Hook residents furious after 2 weeks without lights

RED HOOK (WABC) -- People living in public housing in New York City may have been among the last to get their power back on, and many at the Red Hook Houses are still in the dark.

After two weeks without lights, residents have gone from understanding to impatient, to furious.

Utility crews are everywhere at the Red Hook Houses. Flood waters badly damaged electrical circuitry in the basements, which is why restoration is slow going.

"We're getting more generators in. It is a question of how fast the electricians can set things up," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The New York City Housing Authority reports power is back on for about two thirds of apartment buildings, but many in Red Hook are still in the dark.

"At night it's extremely cold. My cat sneezes like a human now," said 19-year-old Red Hook resident Anthony Padgett.

Padget says conditions in his building are deplorable.

"In some cases there is garbage piled up to maybe the fourth floor, and you can visibly see it, and there is a smell radiating throughout the building," he adds.

Nahisha Freeman sprained her arm and back when she says she fell down a flight of stairs, which was wet and poorly lit.

"We don't have power, so walking down the steps with a flashlight trying to hold on to the railway is very dangerous," Freeman adds.

Despite the anger and frustration, the generosity of volunteers has been a ray of light in what has been two weeks of cold darkness.

Whether it is the gourmet food truck handing out free dinners, the portable library set up in the park, the mobile health van or the Red Cross, New Yorkers are pulling together.

NYCHA says they will be issuing rent credits to public housing residents who lost power because of the storm.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF SANDY'S DAMAGE

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