BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Residents at Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority properties have been left without power and heat during a stretch of dangerously cold weather, prompting concerns about conditions in the city's public housing system.
At the Stuyvesant Apartments on Elmwood Avenue, residents went without electricity and heat for hours this week as wind chills plunged below zero. Jazz, who has lived in the building since 2016, said the outage made sleeping nearly impossible.
WATCH: Residents at Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority properties endure stretch without heat during extreme cold
"It's been terrible. I couldn't even hardly sleep," she said.
The resident, who lives in a handicap-accessible unit, described the challenging conditions during the power outage.
"No electricity, no heat, no stove," she said. "Our apartments are freezing cold. I'm in a handicap apartment. And I think that they should really focus on that."
Miguel Muniz was staying with his 86-year-old mother during the outage to ensure she remained safe.
"I'm not gonna leave her side. I'm a caregiver at the same time," Muniz said.
Muniz attributed the problems to the building's age and deteriorating infrastructure.
"I'm thinking it's just an old building and it's just you know breaking down," Muniz said.
Gillian Brown, executive director of the BMHA, said in a statement that the Stuyvesant outage was caused by a broken pipe that damaged the main electrical panel, requiring assistance from National Grid. According to Brown, most units had service restored Tuesday night, with full power and heat restoration completed by 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority is aware of ongoing power issues impacting residents at Stuyvesant Apartments and has been actively addressing the matter since receiving its first notification at 5:30pm on 1/27/26. A cold-water pipe broke in the power room causing a power outage to the development. The safety and well-being of our residents remains our top priority, and we are actively working with emergency electrical contractors and engineers to restore full service as quickly as possible.
At this time, our emergency electrical contractor has informed us that in order to fully restore power to all units, we will need to shut down power throughout Stuyvesant Apartments at 1:00 PM for approximately one hour. Emergency power will remain intact. Engineers and contractors are on-site and will remain there throughout the day and evening. BMHA staff has remained at the development since its first notification of an issue performing floor-to-floor welfare checks and offering assistance to anyone in need.
We are committed to keeping residents informed and will continue to provide updates through portal notifications and email alerts."
Jazz confirmed her power and heat had been restored when contacted again on Wednesday afternoon.
The heating issues extend beyond Stuyvesant Apartments. Residents at Marine Drive Apartments reported being without heat since Saturday. Brown said the recent weather has tested the heating system, but noted every boiler is working at full capacity.
These latest problems come just one week after the Buffalo Common Council held a public hearing where residents voiced frustrations with housing leadership about deteriorating conditions at city-owned public housing properties.
The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has faced ongoing scrutiny for months regarding maintenance and living conditions across its properties.
