The buildings are safe, but some of the connections are less so and the problem is that people don’t report it or react in time. FDNY is fantastic and gets out there immediately if you smell gas, and so does Con Ed.
But many people just sit around and wait for somebody else to call. That said, landlords often attack people who call in gas leaks (because FDNY shuts down services and Con Ed has to recheck the lines) so probably tenants are intimidated. A lot of times, it’s actually caused by a lousy contractor hired by the landlord or coop owner to do repairs on a stove or replace some gas appliance. Sometimes it’s an old pipe, but usually it’s human negligence.
The big Harlem explosion was caused by a new pipe that Con Ed installed, so anything can happen. They supposedly sent all the Con Ed guys for ‘retraining’ after that happened.
lousy contractor = brother in law, mexican, or both...........