The Gas Outage: One Year In

On April 15, 2015, the gas went out in Building #1. Happy Anniversary!

I'm not quite sure how to approach this article. So many aspects of the gas outage were beyond our control – our buildings are old, safety codes have changed since our buildings were built in 1960, and there are so many unknowns about the condition of the pipes behind every wall – and of the Shareholder behind every door!

And our Board and Management have endeavored to communicate about the outage – to date, there have been thirteen updates. And even as I started writing this, I received the latest Update, informing me that gas service has just resumed for two of the three Building #1 towers!

Still, with all these updates in hand, I give the same response to friends as I did a year ago when they ask me when gas will be turned on again – "I don't know"!

One year in, it is fair to say the process hasn't been a resounding success. Why?

I am sure there are many reasons for the delays. Perhaps the condition of the gas lines was appalling. Perhaps Shareholders were not cooperating. Perhaps we had a problem with our contractors or their scheduling, perhaps DOB has been holding us up – each of these would be significant. I also know there were delays as Maintenance worked with Shareholders to avoid damage when needing to access gas lines behind their renovated kitchens! But another problem is that there was no communication about any of these.

On April 15, 2025, we were informed that "this process will likely take at least four months to complete.", and then on July 3, 2025, Management said "We will [...] notify you as soon as a timeline for gas restoration becomes clearer ." Those four months dragged by three times over... no timeline was ever announced.

Every update since contained details of things that were done, and sometimes an indication of what remained to be done. But we never had an explanation of the delays, and never an estimation of how long the outstanding tasks would take. Instead of any reference to timeframes, we were repeatedly reminded that there was no way to predict DOB's inspection timing and approvals.

Three of our four buildings have now experienced gas outages... I wouldn't be surprised if the fourth is soon to come! With that in mind, I'd like to propose some improved communication strategies:

• Produce a brief "Gas Outages for Dummies" document that describes the main aspects of the gas infrastructure (trunk lines, lines, fittings, risers, half-risers, etc), the key stages of inspecting upgrading, and testing, replacing, and replastering, and expected timeframe for each step.
• Report how many people are working on this project simultaneously (Is there just one worker, or do we have multiple teams? How many apartments are serviced per week?)
• Available log of how many of each type of task were done and remain to be done.
• Available log of major issues - what challenges arose? How many apartments required line replacement?
• Report major setbacks, such as change of contractors, failed tests, and failed inspections.
• Have residents been available? Have you had to break any doors?
• How does this timeline compare to that of other buildings?
• How much is this costing?

We can't call the timing on the inspections, but reporting on these issues would have provided context for living with this outage for more than a year.