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'It was up to my ankles': Pipe bursts floods Buffalo apartment building, leaves tenants without running water

Pipe burst
Posted at 3:34 AM, Dec 27, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-27 17:35:30-05

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It has become one problem after another for residents in one Buffalo apartment building.

7 News first heard from tenants in the Beck Road complex Sunday, about burst pipes throughout their home.

In this video, ankle-high water can be seen throughout the apartment floor but it just got worse for residents.

Pheben Kassahun spoke with the woman who first posted that video about what these past 24 hours have been like.

On top of the deadly two-day blizzard, residents at Piotr Stadnitski Gardens apartments in Buffalo, have been dealing with another catastrophic problem on Christmas Day: a pipe bursting.

"When I got downstairs, all I seen is water near the first step," Tyler Vargas-Pope told Kassahun.

Tyler Vargas-Pope was making a stop at Lucky's on Sycamore for her elderly mother, who lives at Piotr Stadnitski Gardens.

"It was just above the floor. I went back upstairs maybe an hour later, I came back down and it was up to my ankles," Vargas-Pope explained.

She then began documenting the videos and sharing them on Facebook, in the hopes of getting some sort of assistance.

"Everybody was calling the cops from everywhere for this building, and the police said it was a nonemergency thing. I don't understand how it's a nonemergency but there's wheelchair bound people. There's people with heart conditions, there's people with a lot of conditions in this building," she recalled.

She said an old maintenance employee named Dwayne, came after seeing her post.

"I bust down both those steel doors myself. By the time I turned around he was coming to save everybody. He turned that wheel because I couldn't turn it. The neighbor couldn't turn it," Vargas-Pope explained.

The water has been cleared out but there is yet another hurdle for the tenants: the entire building now has no running water.

There was also no timeline given as to when water will be restored.

"The new company has been very proactive. they have done everything they can to help me from where they are."

Additionally, Vargas-Pope is actually stuck at her mom's apartment because their parking lot has not been plowed, as of Monday, which is yet another problem on their list of things of things wreaking havoc in their lives.

The apartment building is under a property manager transition.

Symphony Management Company will oversee the building until January 2.

The apartment's new entity. MDG Design + Construction’s PR team, released this statement:

"The owners of Piotr Stadnitski Gardens’ top priority, now and always, is the safety of our residents. The heat is functioning at 100 Beck Street and we’re doing everything possible — including contacting all necessary parties and authorities — to resolve the storm-related concerns. On-site staff took all usual and essential precautionary measures to prepare for the blizzard.

This weekend’s winter storm has had a devastating impact on the Buffalo community and we’re all working together to get through the storm and resolve its lasting impacts."

- MDG Design + Construction Spokesperson