Jacqueline Guzman is distraught about her living situation at the Astoria Houses. She says her building has been without cooking gas for almost a month.

“It’s just ridiculous. I pay my rent on time. I work for the Board of Ed, and I shouldn’t have to live this way,” said Guzman.

She has a single hot plate to cook all her meals, including special meals for her son Jeremy. He has a traumatic brain injury and is on an all-purée diet.

“He’s just complicated,” said Guzman.

While the city’s housing authority has provided frozen meals, Guzman says it doesn’t suffice.

“What they provided, the microwave food, he cannot eat,” said Guzman. “I don’t give him junk food. I don’t give him any sugar. I try to keep him healthy. He has a brain injury.”

Guzman is not alone. Kim Elliot says many of her neighbors are struggling to cook a healthy meal too.

“A lot of people here who are on strict diets. You have the kids home from school and try to make a meal on one odd burner,” said Elliot. “It takes you at least four to five hours.”

NYCHA says a severe gas leak led to a shutdown of the building’s main valve. Forty-eight units are affected. While NYCHA has provided hot plates— Elliot says it’s not enough. She’s concerned what it means for her family going into the holiday season.

“Come Thanksgiving, come Christmas. Because at this point, we’re looking into maybe next year sometime,” said Elliot.

A NYCHA spokesperson says the gas restoration process includes multiple partners and steps, and the agency is currently working with an outside vendor to expedite the process. It’s not clear when gas will be restored.