Bryan Smith/for New York Daily News
HPD community consultant Phillip Tavada, one of two HPD workers who smelled gas during a recent visit to a Brooklyn building and contacted emergency responders, averting a potential tragedy.
Ph illip Tavada and Raul Morales, two workers from the citys Department of Housing Preservation and Development, were on a routine visit to a Brooklyn building when something just didnt smell right.
The pair, who have each logged more than 20 years at the agency, were there to let tenants know a new owner would be taking over the building as part of the citys Third Party Transfer Program.
Under the program, the city helps shift buildings from delinquent owners who traditionally owe tax money and have racked up numerous code violations to new, more responsible owners.
We were there to deliver messages to the tenants of the building, said Tavada. We headed up the top floor and smelled gas.
They knocked on one door and asked the occupant if they smelled gas. The gas was not coming from their apartment.
No one answered the door across the way, which seemed to be the source of the gas smell.
A call to 911 brought police officers, firef ighters and an alarming discovery:
The stove had been left on.
Further examination from National Grid workers found a faulty gas line leak.
If Tavada and Morales had not been so alert, the result would have been very different.
The leak could have led to a pretty decent explosion causing serious injury or fatalities not to mention structural damage to the building, according to Deputy Commissioner Vito Mustaciuolo. (I) have been to a few of these in my day and have seen some tragic end results. A brownstone in Brooklyn on State Street was leveled to the ground killing three people, and there was one in StuyTown blowing the occupant through a cinderblock wall, to name a few.
The 16-unit building on Park Place has 139 open housing code violations, owes over half a million dollars in property taxes and $ 128,000 in water taxes.
Now the pair are being hailed by colleagues for preventing a potential tragedy.
Tavada just sai d he was happy that the pair was in a small way, able to help avoid a tragic situation.
HERO SANITATION WORKERS HONORED AT CITI FIELD
Hero Sanitation workers Joseph Maneggio and Semi Nkozi will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field before the Mets-Giants game on Tuesday night.
Back in December, Maneggio and Nkozi rescued five children and their mother from a burning building in Far Rockaway.
They will also get a chance to meet Mets players during batting practice.
BOLDEST vs. STRONGEST
The citys Sanitation Department and Correction Department will face off on the field for the second annual Boldest Football Fallen Heroes Game in Queens.
The game takes place Saturday at Memorial Field in Flushing, 149th St. and 25th Ave. Starting time is 3 p.m.
Proceeds go to the Correction Officers Benevolent Association Widows and Childrens Fund.
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