The fiery blast on Park Avenue at 116th Street, not far from the edge of Central Park, erupted about 9:30 a.m., around 15 minutes after a neighboring resident reported smelling gas, authorities said. Con Edison said it immediately sent utility workers to check out the report, but they didn't arrive until it was too late.Yes, isn't that how it works? You can call Con Ed and they respond immediately. Maybe the complaints only went to the landlord, but still, the negligence is unfathomable.
March 12, 2014
At the exploded apartment building in East Harlem, residents had been complaining for weeks about an "unbearable" smell of gas.
So says one resident. I find that hard to believe.
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99 comments:
Believe it, Ann:
Welcome to the ghetto,...
Charlie Wrangle - "Our community's 9/11".
Central Park ends at 110 th st. So it is six blocks south and two avenues west of the explosion. Not quite "near the edge" of the park.
"The Fire Department said a check of its records found no instances in the past month in which tenants of the two buildings reported gas odors or leaks."
There's a rather strange limiting qualifier in that sentence.
Probably nothing, right?
If you get a Con Ed bill, you get notices about what to do if you smell gas.
"Not quite "near the edge" of the park."
They said "not far."
Illegal tapping into electric and gas lines is pretty common in some parts of the city.
Could have played a role.
Welcome to the ghetto
That's a ghetto? I used to work in that neighborhood. You don't know what you are talking about. Oooo, the mean streets. Like I never saw a utility truck there.
FYI.Natural gas has no odor.
The odor is added, most commonly
Mercaptan
Actually several qualifiers:
"found no instances"
"within the last month"
"of the building"
Maybe even "it's records"
I'd dig a little deeper, myself.
A few weeks ago, Borrero said, city fire officials were called about the odor
I'm sure his Obamaphone records will provide documentation of that call.
Doesn't sound like investigators can tell which of the two buildings had the gas leak that caused the explosion.
New Yorkers aren't shy about complaining and people know you don't ignore gas smells.
This might change your outlook:
"Researchers find nearly 6,000 natural gas leaks in District’s aging pipe system"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/researchers-find-nearly-6000-natural-gas-leaks-in-districts-aging-pipe-system/2014/01/15/f6ee2204-7dff-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html
Right on bandmeeting. A ghetto of million dollar houses. You have to make allowances for Crack-think.
Google street view doesn't look ghetto or posh.
116th and Park is not the ghetto to anyone who has been to NY in the last,say,twenty years.
The area used to be called Spanish Harlem. The gentrification process is well under way. There aren't a lot of million dollar apartments there yet, but it's certainly not a ghetto anymore.
Ghetto. Pop on up and buy a brownstone in the Harlem "ghetto" below 125 and get back to us on what a killing you made.
Actually, as Con Ed itself explained once when called, you don't smell gas. You smell a warning odor they put in it.
Gas leaks are obviously racist.
My gas meter was making a funny noise one time. I called the gas company and they told me to exit my house immediately. She told me not to even push the off button on the phone or flip any light switches on the way out. I'm going to assume, until proven other wise, that all people get this kind of warning when they call the gas company.
Gas explosions are caused by America's legacy of racism and slavery.
"not a ghetto anymore."
It's been a while since I was there. Gentrification.
The infrastructure is probably much the same.
And, if these are black folks, the assumption they know the smell of gas is just that - an assumption:
There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know.
Gas isn't racist, but you guys sure sound like you are.
No surprise there.
Gravity affects blacks the most.
#physicalphenomenaareracist
Gas explosion thread turns into a racist dominated thread. Who knew?
I did. And it wasn't difficult.
What possible reason does the city have to neglect a fast gentrifying neighborhood that's "not far" from Central Park? I mean, don't they want affluent young whites to continue moving in because it's a safe area? Don't the racist and greedy want to boost rents and property taxes and push black people out?
Actually, the only reason I can think of for neglecting that area is to turn back the clock and remake it into a ghetto. Makes you wonder.
Crack double down
Scott M said...
Charlie Wrangle - "Our community's 9/11"
People of color, "sun people", people who are one with the earth, who have full understanding of every thought and motivation of white people because they have observed them for so long, flew planes into buildings in Harlem?
Why, that's almost as insane as turning a thread about a gas explosion into a thread on racism.
Maybe all future Althouse posts can be turned into two separate posts.
For example: once a thread is posted, it produces two parallel tracks. One track to cover the racist angle. Every thread apparently has racist connotations.
The second thread would be devoted to a discussion/debate on the original topic.
At this moment, against my better judgment, I feel a little sympathy for the Crackster.
I've tried everything I know to pull him out of this tailspin, but nothing works.
Charlie Wrangle - "Our community's 9/11"
True fact: No black people were killed on 9/11.
That's because they're not allowed to fly and certainly were not allowed in the World Trade Center, deep in the heart of the financial district.
The latest news in the case is that building owner Kaoru Muramatsu was originally named Aryas McCracker but changed his name to conceal his racial origins. Its like the Zimmerman case all over again.
Perhaps, as a part of de Blasio's Pre-K/UFT jobs program, they can teach tots what it smells like when mommy or daddy don't properly get the stove lit--hey, it happened to me this morning and I've got one of those non pilot light stoves.
After that, they can go somewhere with dirt and demonstrate the difference between the kid's ass and a hole in the ground.
Equality, here we come.
It's been a while since I was there.
So...you admit that you're bold-faced wrong about that then?
What's the history of that neighborhood? If it was majority black "twenty years ago", did someone live there before it became so, or did they just install the black families along the heating systems when they put up the buildings?
The perils of electronic bill-pay. Back when it was all paper, about every 6 months the gas company would go to not insignificant expense to include a scratch'n'sniff picture of a flame impregnated with the smell of ethyl mercaptan so all its ratepayers and their families would have the chance to get familiar with the stenching element used to give their gas its characteristic odor. (And get the hell outta Dodge if they every smelled it in the household, was the explicit message.) Actually, a lot of regulatory agencies still require such messaging, but if you're cool and disdain paper, or just ignore everything but the bottom line on the invoice, well, sucks to be you when that funny rank odor you can't quite ID shows up in the house. Just before things get really bad, really fast.
""not a ghetto anymore."
It's been a while since I was there. Gentrification.
The infrastructure is probably much the same.
And, if these are black folks, the assumption they know the smell of gas is just that - an assumption:
There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know."
@Crack is that comment supposed to be a joke?
Humperdink said...
Gas explosion thread turns into a racist dominated thread. Who knew?
I did. And it wasn't difficult.
I like how wherever I go - just little ol' me against all of you - it becomes "a racist dominated thread".
That's amazing.
I never knew white supremacy was so fragile,...
EMD said...
Charlie Wrangle - "Our community's 9/11"
True fact: No black people were killed on 9/11.
No, they were all lynched during Reconstruction, remember?
Along with bombing little girls.
My, my - isn't terrorism scary?
Scott M said...
It's been a while since I was there.
So...you admit that you're bold-faced wrong about that then?
Or I made a mistake because of the passage of time.
I do see how kangaroo courts worked in the South with you guys.
Are you sure you're not Democrats?
cubanbob,
@Crack is that comment supposed to be a joke?
No - I remember, not too long ago, when whites had a good ol' time laughing when recognizing it.
Kinda racist, that, if I also remember.
Whites have very selective memories,...
He who smelt it, dealt it.
Never let a good crises go to waste. Instead of mourn and rebuild, let's find a scapegoat, stir up racial tensions in the area, and get some money pouring into the coffers. Give us money, and we will shut up. Deny this was racial terrorism and we will scream until you pay up.
Or I made a mistake because of the passage of time.
And that's different from being wrong how? You made a completely false statement without qualification and couldn't back it up with anything substantial.
I do see how kangaroo courts worked in the South with you guys.
I do see how, given your daily performance, people might judge other that look like you as ignorant and hateful.
Are you sure you're not Democrats?
Positive, but I'm sure a bunch of people that look like you are for no good reason other than ignorance.
Give us money, and we will shut up.
Nah, nah - now you're trying to have it both ways:
The Approved Conservative Mantra™ is, if you give blacks any justice, we'll never shut up.
Stay on point,...
Remember?
Barack Obama became president, and that meant racism went away for every other black on the planet.
But when blacks said "no it didn't" conservatives got angry.
We don't want to make conservatives angry, now do we?
They might shut down the government or something,...
Whatever lies you need to tell yourself at night, Cripus, fine by me.
Scott M said...
Or I made a mistake because of the passage of time.
And that's different from being wrong how?
I don't know how you want to frame a mistake as your winning hand, but, if it makes you feel good:
THE BLACK MAN WAS WRONG.
I'll now turn my eyes away as you touch yourself,...
Exactly your main problem, there, Crack. I don't need to win for you to lose. It's not a zero-sum game despite your poisoned outlook on life.
You being wrong doesn't benefit me in the slightest. I'm hoping it benefits you, but I'll not hold my breath.
"cubanbob,
@Crack is that comment supposed to be a joke?
No - I remember, not too long ago, when whites had a good ol' time laughing when recognizing it.
Kinda racist, that, if I also remember.
Whites have very selective memories,..."
Like I said is that suppose to be a joke? What does this woman on the witness stand have to do with the presumed inability of some ghetto blacks to recognize the scent of natural gas?
If anyone is interested, I rode past it on the way home and took pictures from the train. A passenger said to another passenger that this was where Chase was building a new set of houses.
I guess I'm not an eyewitness, I didn't see it blow up, but I did see it after.
Don't worry, Crack, lots of white people on the trains were inconvenienced for hours. It would really show, Cracky, that you knew your place, if you blacks would stop having your houses blow up and spread flaming debris on the train tracks of white people. Stop bringing down the property values and all that. Thanks for your consideration. 😜
And for your information, these areas used to be fantastic areas. This is you know a hundred years ago, before black people moved there, but the bones of the neighborhood are very good. You find, when you strip all the paint off of the wood, you find some real surprises in those Harlem brownstones.
The jokes about the insensitivity of blacks to bad smells write themselves, so I won't lower myself...actually I feel inspired. Cracky, with a little self deprecation and humility you could really make yourself a lot more appealing, which believe it or not, would be valuable to you.
Likewise, people, I think a humorous response to Crack does better than to go nuts on him all the time, which obviously doesn't deter him. I had a great rejoinder for back when he talked about white people not knowing how to fuck; but I figured Althouse would move to the .se site just so she could ban me. Hint: it's really a Polish joke, so by ethnic humor rules I could tell it, but her head would explode.
I denounce myself for insensitivity. When I say they were good areas before blacks moved into them, I mean that there was no racial issue with the population at the time it was built out, and it was a prosperous area and the houses were well built. I don't deny that in construction slated for minorities there is probably slipshod work being done. As it is all over. But I don't deny that projects are probably put together crappy. Crappily?
Crappe
Furthermore, I should also clarify and say that while New York is well built, a lot of the infrastructure is extremely old. There are lots of leaky pipes. Lots of clay pipes, terra-cotta I should say, and 200 years ago it was hollowed out tree trunks carrying water. That's actually how Chase got started. So it really doesn't surprise me too much that such could happen. Maybe, since resources are finite, we could take some Democrat-agenda money and put it into refurbishing the infrastructure. That would be nice.
My grandmother lived in Harlem. Tiny little white girl. Of course this was in 1897 and they were living on a farm.
So yes the neighborhoods do change.
My experience with Con Ed was a good one. There was a frightening gas smell in my lower midtown building a few years ago. I called Con Ed, and they sent someone over immediately. He quickly dealt with the problem -- a pipe broken by careless workmen -- by shutting off the gas that ran to that pipe. By the time the landlord arrived an hour later, the problem had been contained.
There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know."
Well, the men don't know, but the little girls, they understand!
Heaven forbid a top down government mandated solution, and I mean that, but wouldn't it be a good idea for every major gas network valve, down to a certain scale, to have a remote on-off switch? Or at least an off if you fear cyberterrorism. That way you could have the ConEd or 911 operator flip a switch and contain the danger instantly. Of course you'd need a valve actuator design that wouldn't throw sparks.
1646 Park Avenue had 60 open violations from the Department of Housing and Development. The owner Muramatsu's ex husband the piano guy made a killing in real estate, taking advantage of the gentrification of Spanish Harlem, then bought 1646 from some flippers as a step down. Muramatsu acquired it after the divorce, but evidently wasn't overly concerned about bringing it into compliance--and let's be honest, the fees for noncompliance are peanuts for millionaires like her. It's not what Wisconsin's own Paul Ryan means by "inner city" laziness, but it is what is, and you can fathom it if you try. In other words, the Crack Emcee owns this thread.
I don't believe it earlier and I said so yesterday to my co-workers. I have called 3 times in the last 20 years when I smelled gas or was just concerned (the guy the appliance store hired to hook up my gas dryer seemed incompetant - why take a chance?). Each time they were there as fast as an ambulance. They said don't turn on switches, don't strike a match and ventilate. One time it was a faulty pilot light on the stove in my new apt on moving day. The other times it was OK, but they were happy to come and check it out.
This morning people are saying "we called 311," which in NYC is the non-emergency reporting system. I call them about broken street lights, not something like gas.
As someone who produces and sells natural gas at the wholesale level, this thread mystifies me.
If, at anytime, the utility is notified of a gas leak at a residence, they come out in an instant and shut the line down. The gas line is then locked at the meter or entry point to the building. This what all retail gas suppliers do (at least in Pa). Doesn't matter if it -15 degrees.
The property owner then is forced to call a licensed plumber to have the line(s) repaired and tested. The plumber presents the test results to the gas supplier. Gas supplier then unlocks the gas line. Pilot lights are re-ignited.
"And, if these are black folks, the assumption they know the smell of gas is just that - an assumption:
There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know."
The soft bigotry of low expectations. maybe you should have put a little thought into your first comment, so you wouldnt have to say something so stupid in an attempt to save face.
So what is your solution? special classes to people can identify the smell of rotten eggs? I can see it now, based on your statement, NYC sets up classes for blacks because "There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know." A year later, you'll protest that there aren't any white people in those classes and it's evidence of racism because obvs white people think blacks are too stupid to recognize the smell of rotten eggs and how can they be expected to read the notices in the gas bill.
I got, not special classes, we'll give them a monthly stipend so that they can go out and find a black instructor, because really, only a black instructor can teach black people what they don't know (that's what I was told in college, only a black professor could have an adequate understanding of the Civil War, so the college was racist for not giving tenure to the only history professor who hadn't bothered to the requisite article writing or any of the other requirements for gaining tenure). That stipend will have to last several months so that it not only covers initial training in recognizing the rotten egg smell from the additive in natural gas, but follow on training, remedial training because we don't want anyone left behind, and periodic reviews.
" The Crack Emcee owns this thread."
Is there a cross, somewhere, the rest of these folks can nail me on?
I mean, it seems sort of obvious, that's where this is going,...
@Crack,
I agree with you on this one.
Natural Gas isn't racist.
@Ann,
Even if (A) they called when they first smelled natural gas, and (B) ConEd came out right away, that doesn't guarantee safety.
Leaks of pressurized natural gas are scary things. Especially in older buildings.
Once ConEd arrives, they have to find a shutoff. (Either inside or outside the building.) Then they have to shut it off. Then they have to let the building clear.
Usually, things are kept safe.
Sometimes, even the best-planned rescue effort can't stop the leaking gas from igniting, and causing an explosion.
"There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know."
♫ People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless ♫
~ Fight The Glower!
@Humperdink,
I don't know if we know enough to accurately assess whether ConEd did well.
Early reports of catastrophes often contain misinformation. In this case, I'd suspect that confusion and misinformation to muddle our ability to understand what happened.
(You may know, better than me, what the risks of any leak turning into an explosion are...)
However, I think that there are three big unknowns.
1. How many leaks were present, and how old the natural-gas plumbing was.
2. The time from detected-leak to reported-leak to ConEd-response.
3. Whether the complaint went to the appropriate place (ConEd ought to have a dedicated phone line for handling reports of gas leaks. If the report went to the building manager or a City emergency-line first first, the response is likely to be delayed.)
Clearly, if they reported the smell of gas, they knew the smell of gas. So, if we assume the people are telling the truth, it is wrong for us to assume that they did not know what the warning odor in the gas smelled like.
The only way for Crack's "folks don't know what gas smells like" to work is if we assume they lied about reporting smelling the odor, which frankly, I don't know if they are.
What I think is most likely is they DID report it, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle [they reported it to a landlord/random staff person in the office, who didn't pass it along, etc.]
[Also, I think it is a bit pedantic to talk about smelling a warning odor vs. smelling gas. When someone wears perfume, we say they smell good, not the perfume they put on them smells good.]
Matthew Sablan,
The only way for Crack's "folks don't know what gas smells like" to work is if we assume they lied about reporting smelling the odor, which frankly, I don't know if they are.
The way what I say is filtered by whites is fascinating. The idea that someone in a ghetto - even many someones - could've called in a gas leak and it's not looked into AND there also being uneducated people who wouldn't recognize the smell of gas isn't possible? It HAS to be either or - in order to make sense to whites.
Like with slavery and all the rest, whites have NO CLUE what's going on in this country they've long lorded over.
And blacks perpetually pay the price for your ignorance,...
chickenlittle said...
"There's a lot of things like that some blacks don't know."
♫ People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless ♫
~ Fight The Glower!
Except for your "humor" at the end (why don't blacks like whites again?) that's a great quote from PE to make my point.
In this case, Crack, blacks may have paid for their OWN ignorance. Or is that okay for some reason?
Nichevo said...
In this case, Crack, blacks may have paid for their OWN ignorance. Or is that okay for some reason?
No. Until whites get rid of the single story they tell themselves about blacks, I'll not accept much blame on black's behalf, for what happens to us, what we think, or do even.
Whites refuse to pay reparations so we, too, have some economic stability after being deprived of it and more? Don't look at me to complain about black crime. Whites created it.
The blatant unfairness of whites trumps everything. I keep telling you not to ignore history - y'all do it anyway, over and over again, every day - and then pat each other on the back for it.
Makes you look like idiots, but if that's what makes you happy.
Long story-short, if whites can wipe their hands of us, as a people with real lives affected by being outnumbered in a hostile culture, I can wipe mine of them.
No - almost everything "wrong" with black people, according to black people, is laid at white's feet.
Today, mostly, it's simply because whites refuse to deal honestly,...
Then again is it a neighborhood that ConEd will go into without an escort?
Rusty said...
Then again is it a neighborhood that ConEd will go into without an escort?
Now THAT comment takes reality into consideration.
I don't think it would be true for a gentrified neighborhood, necessarily, but for straight-up black neighborhoods?
Could be possible,...
Except for your "humor" at the end (why don't blacks like whites again?) that's a great quote from PE to make my point.
You're welcome, Crack.
I don't think it would be true for a gentrified neighborhood, necessarily, but for straight-up black neighborhoods?
Could be possible,...
Straight up hillbilly neighborhoods.
Straight up hispanic neighborhoods.
Straight up itallian neighborhoods.
The Big City has a lot of neighborhoods.
Rusty,
The Big City has a lot of neighborhoods.
Yeah, but I've never heard of police decking to enter a "hillbilly" neighborhood.
Just watch Cops.
Yeah, but I've never heard of police decking to enter a "hillbilly" neighborhood.
Uh huh.
There's a shitload you've never heard of.
Blogger The Crack Emcee said...
Nichevo said...
In this case, Crack, blacks may have paid for their OWN ignorance. Or is that okay for some reason?
No. Until whites get rid of the single story they tell themselves about blacks, I'll not accept much blame on black's behalf, for what happens to us, what we think, or do even.
There you have it, Crack. White supremacists don't have to do anything to get rid of you. Just let Darwin do the work.
It's not your job to know the smell of gas? Whitey is supposed to save you from that too? To say they deserve to die would be unkind, but really, are they fit to live? Are they capable of living free?
Blame's got nothing to do with it.
Nichevo,
It's not your job to know the smell of gas?
Shit, I know blacks who don't understand what taxes are.
Or don't you notice many of the ones who become rich getting busted for it?
You guys really can't fathom what 400 years of bullshit can do to a people, can you?
400 years in Egypt didn't turn is into morons, Crack. You're telling us all this jive about how the white msn doesn't know this, white man doesn't know that, but the black man knows because his single mother and his single grandmothers pass down the knowledge.
Maybe it's better, in terms of measurable outcomes, to deprecate the nursing of grievances, and promote the sort of knowledge that helps one live, thrive and survive in today's world. Recognizing gas. Finances. Don't breed every girl who's too weak or easy to stop you. Don't vote for folks that only call you nigger behind your back.
As you know, 400 years is a short spell in areas of the world with more history, like Kosovo for instance. Do you really want to be like Kosovo? Those psychos in Yugoslavia can grievance you under the table. What they can't do, is have a decent society. They are a white Rwanda.
What is it you want? people keep asking you, and you keep not answering. I think you're like the Palestinians. I once rode with an Egyptian cab driver, and I asked him, what do the Palestinians want? He said, they don't know what they want. Or to put it another way, you're like Edward G. Robinson in Key Largo. When Humphrey Bogart asks him what does he want, his answer is "More!"
You have to learn to stop asking to be given things. It isn't working.
As for Wesley Snipes, he knew very well what taxes are, he chose not to pay them. Was it a black man or a white or a faceless raceless web page that bamboozled him into believing the cracked notion that he could avoid paying.
Where was the money going? Black on black philanthropy? Guns for Da Struggle? Or wine, women and song? You think you know what whites think of blacks. Why do whites think that?
I remember Ice Cube.
"It's hot.
My feet hurt.
And that bitch is slipping."
Sure, so why not a carjacking? Too bad he was alone so he couldn't gang-rape her too. After all, she was slipping! In other words, she was weak, therefore she was his lawful prey. So why complain when you are weak and whites are strong?
This is why society tries to move AWAY from the law of the jungle. Do what's right, do what you should, not what you can. Althouse doesn't understand that, because she's a lawyer. Buy you're better than her. I hope. I wish.
Ben Carson an Uncle Tom! Well first off he was the hero of the novel.
Do you understand that we don't need you? Unless you have something to offer.
You know what you should ask for that I wish I knew how to give you? Fathers. 100% of black children should have fathers. That's affirmative action for you.
Nope - we're too dumb to handle fathers unless it's a white rapist with a whip.
That should be obvious,...
Too bad he was alone so he couldn't gang-rape her too.
My very thoughts, too.
That would've been *sweeeet*
Just like in the old days, huh?
Do you understand that we don't need you? Unless you have something to offer.
I know - but we're not slaves anymore, so raping white women and playing The Knockout Game will have to suffice,...
Do you understand that we don't need you?
Hey - that's what everybody said when I wouldn't vote for Romney!
That worked out great, didn't it?
The sarcasm does not interest me, it does not annoy me, and it does not help you.
Nichevo said...
You know what you should ask for that I wish I knew how to give you? Fathers. 100% of black children should have fathers. That's affirmative action for you.
Somebody heard you:
Father bit off infant's nose over crying, police say
That's horrible! What do you make of that?
your favorite little shtick, Cracky, is to get people jumping to conclusions about the macabre materials you publish. So what conclusion am I supposed to draw from this, and now that you fooled me, what is the real lesson? Let me not put words in your mouth because you hate that sooo much.
Nichevo said...
That's horrible! What do you make of that?
What do I make of what? The kid's got a father, which is what YOU wanted, right? The answer to all black problems?
Oh, you guys are some fucking geniuses,...
Are you really that stupid?
You're so hung up on people putting words in your mouth. Is that what I said? Were those my words?
No, but money or the right to fuck white women or whatever it us you're after, that will fix this. Because the white man taught this guy to bite his kid's nose off. maybe the guy is just nuts like white Asian and Hispanic nuts.
Do you understand that it is invalid to draw conclusions about the whole from one? Isn't that what you are fighting? Or only when it suits you?
For the record I did not assume he was black, even after the comments started about dreadlocks.
The Crack Emcee "Do you understand that we don't need you?"
And yet you keep coming to this blog to throw insults and paranoid accusations at white people. Seems like there is something you need.
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