Flood of woe hits Bx. bldg.

Elderly and sick residents of a city Housing Authority building were forced to trudge down 20 flights of stairs after burst pipes shut down elevator service two days in a row.

On Sunday and Monday, the plumbing failed on the 20th and 17th floors, respectively, sending water cascading down elevator shafts and staircases in the Morrisania Air Rights Complex on Park Ave. by E. 158th St. in Melrose.

The first pipe broke at 9 a.m. on Sunday, according to Carmen Quinones, 81, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.

“It got as high as my knee,” she said. “I had to miss church.”

Quinones, who gets around with the help of a walker, was forced to take the stairs to get out of the building.

“I had to walk 20 flights of stairs because the elevators weren’t working,” she said. “I’m tired of sweeping out water.”

Again on Monday, this time on the 17th floor, a pipe broke about 8 a.m. swamping hallways and apartments and shutting down the elevators.

“Everybody’s apartment was flooded,” James Russell, 48, a construction worker, said. “The water was so deep that tiles from the floor were floating.”

Monday’s leak interrupted water service and forced NYCHA to shut down the elevators for part of the day.

“People should not have to live like this,” Russell said. “My rug, my wall unit, all kinds of furniture have been destroyed.”

Both leaks drew the attention of City Council member Vanessa Gibson and state Sen. Luis Sepulveda, who criticized NYCHA for conditions in the building.

“There have been a series of maintenance problems and other issues for sometime,” Sepulveda said.

Later Monday the elevators were running again and both pipes had been fixed, NYCHA spokeswoman Jasmine Blake said.