IT’S BEEN ONE MONTH SINCE THE BOSTON SECOR GAS EXPLOSION AND RESIDENTS ARE RIGHTEOUSLY ANGRY AFTER NOTHING BUT FALSE PROMISES AND HUSH MONEY FROM MANAGEMENT
Immediately following the explosion on January 24th, Wavecrest posted this flyer in every building, but they were still completely unreachable. They have offered no readily available information to tenants about whether their neighbors are okay, what exact repair work has been done, or when gas will come back on. When you call the line, no one answers, it’s busy, or they say they don’t have information to share. It’s time to confront them and demand the answers residents deserve.
RED CROSS & PRESLOG’S CRUMBS
Red Cross came and went without any real care for displaced residents. After the fire, PresLog moved everyone into different hotels across the city, and promised residents one meal a day. However, people reported going days without receiving this measly offering, and when they did, the food was spoiled. In hotels without a kitchen, residents had to pay to order food, a cost Wavecrest should have fronted. People lost their jobs, are waiting on the recovery of loved ones still in the hospital, are now facing medical charges, and are afraid to be in their homes. Across all 4 Boston Secor buildings, residents are cooking on hot plates, and with Wavecrest’s shoddy electrical work in these buildings, (there was an electrical fire in one Boston Secor building a week before the gas explosion) residents are rightfully scared and angry. These crumbs are not enough and can not make up for the lives lost, homes and belongings burnt, and forever traumatized residents who fear going back into their homes.
HUSH MONEY
Now that residents are moving back into building 1, Wavecrest is offering people stipends but residents call it what it is: hush money. Households are being offered hush money based on their apartment size, but to receive the money they have to sign off that “you agree not to make any claims for personal property damage or loss caused by the incident.” In many cases, this money doesn’t even cover the costs incurred from damaged belongings, let alone medical bills and lost jobs. Wavecrest Management is trying to cover their asses but Boston Secor residents see right through it.
“BE PREPARED” FOR THE NEXT FIRE = WAVECREST WILL BLAME ANYONE FOR THEIR CRIMES
This flyer was sent to building 1 residents, with PACT, the RAIN Center, FDNY, and The TA all listed as sponsors of the meeting. On the day of the meeting, we showed up with residents and were met by a PACT representative, Leticia, who wouldn’t let anyone past the lobby. She gave us multiple excuses for not being allowed into the meeting to ask questions about the building fire.
She stated, “this event was only for seniors,” then, “this is a workshop not a meeting, you cannot ask questions about the fire,” (bold to say you can’t ask questions at a “workshop”), and finally, “this was planned beforehand it’s just unfortunate timing.” If this fire safety meeting was planned before the explosion, why was it specifically shared with residents in building 1 where the explosion happened?
Wavecrest, PACT, the TA, all have a responsibility to answer to residents. Management wants to point to the meeting to say they did something in response to the explosion, but the reality is they were shocked to see 13 residents pull up to demand answers about how this explosion happened in the first place. A PACT coordinator’s role is to lie to residents and pretend they’re on their side, all the while defending these private management companies. PACT and Wavecrest go hand in hand. Ultimately, they never let people past the lobby that day and never actually held this Fire Safety Workshop.
It has been exactly one month since the gas explosion that killed a resident, hospitalized many others, displaced hundreds, and left 4 buildings without gas. Wavecrest Management and their cronies -PresLog, Red Cross, PACT, and the TA- have left residents without safe homes, care, or clear information. They’ve rushed residents back into building 1 just in time for March rent. Still, everyone is left wondering, when will the gas be turned on? What structural repairs have been done to make building 1 safe again? Are any of these buildings really safe?
We demand WaveCrest OUT of Boston Secor
This gas explosion has been a devastating indictment of what privatization means for people in the projects, but when residents get together to fight, we can put an end to this. If you live in Boston Secor, or other projects around the city, reach out or come out to join the fight against Wavecrest, private real estate developers, and the city’s privatization push.
Dare to Struggle 