NOV 4 UPDATE FROM WARC PRESIDENT : SOME GOOD NEWS

Westbeth Update
Sunday AM November 04, 2012

I have been in Ohio for over 12 days so all the reports I get come from people on the ground at Westbeth. I apologize if any information is misinterpreted or incorrect but I am filtering and reconfirming as much as I can.

Let me correct something from yesterday. Electric is on in most of the building but it is not on in the A section or in some apartments near the A section. They are working on it now but there is no definitive answer on when they will have electric.

Electric service does NOT automatically give us elevators, water or heat. Right now we only have electric in most of the building but none of the other three services.

From the Westbeth Corporate FB page:
The pump company came today and immediately saw, given the extent of the damage to the pumps, that onsite repair was not possible. They have taken them, along with the pumps for the hot water system, back to their shop, and hope to have some or all of them back in place by Tuesday or Wednesday. We also know that we can supply power to those pumps.

The contractor for the oil burners, the critical part of the boiler machinery, came to the building after 7 p.m. to survey the situation. His initial reaction was encouraging — the burners can quite likely be repaired and he will return when an electrician tells him it’s safe to begin taking them out of the boilers. His hope was that he would relatively quickly be able to get two of the burners working, which would allow us to provide hot water and, possibly, some heat, sooner than we expected.

The boiler work depends not only on the burners, but on the electrician (not the same one doing the restoration work;) and the plumber, who needs to ensure that the oil supply pipes are intact and that the system supplying water to and from the boilers is working. We expect both the electrician and plumber be at Westbeth on Sunday. We also are anticipating needing pumps for the fuel supply.

We are also hopeful that elevator service can be restored in a reasonable number of days. The equipment for them is on the roof, not in the basement, so it should mostly be intact. As of 9 p.m. this evening, (Saturday) there was still significant water in the pits at the bottom of the elevators in the Bethune Street lobby; work on them can’t begin until that’s taken care of. We received more pumps today, and with the restoration of electricity we hope to have that accomplished some time on Sunday. The A section elevators are more of mystery, and we might have a better handle on their condition by the end of tomorrow.

Let’s talk about some good news!

Erica Fae, our Community Relations Chair, has been in constant contact with the Board of Elections about Westbeth remaining a poll location. As of this morning, we are still listed as the poll location for our building. Once we have a definitive word on this we will post it.

Erica is also working to turn the Community Room into a warming center. More details on that will be posted in the community room. There is a daily update meeting held by management in the community room at 3PM. Attend if you can. WARC will be posting daily updates on each floor by the elevator bulletin boards on each floor but these will only be synopsis of what we know. If you have a question or concern that needs immediate attention, it is best to attend the 3 PM meeting and address it to management.

Yesterday, TJ Luty from God’s Love We Deliver, purchased and then helped distribute 20 electric blankets throughout the building with Erica and Maya. Thank you TJ and GLWD!

WARC is also trying to find a floor captain (or captains for the larger floors) to coordinate supply and relief efforts.

Congressman Nadler’s office dropped off 12 cases of bottled water and 140 MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) last night. You can check at the desk to see if any of those supplies are still available.

Maybe some of the best news – Very happy to report that Speaker Quinn’s office has put in a request to both HPD and to HUD for two emergency boilers so that we will have heat and hot water. I know her office is moving heaven and earth to get them on site ASAP. These will serve as a stop gap measure until our boilers are repaired.

We are also trying to get a water truck to supply water for your drinking and sanitary needs.

I know that nerves are wearing thin, that some tempers have flared and this is overwhelming for some.
Please remember to be kind and patient. The staff is overburdened and has been stellar during this catastrophe. The WARC members and other volunteers are doing this even as they suffer under the same circumstances that you do.

I cannot get home soon enough to help with these relief efforts. However, I have a job to do here, so I will finish my assignment in Ohio and then come home to the place we all love, Westbeth.

Love from a now snowy Ohio,
George Cominskie