The rule, long on the books of the New York City Housing Authority, has not been heavily enforced: public-housing tenants who install air-conditioners in their windows must follow the manufacturer’s specifications and have their work inspected by the housing authority. Penalties for noncompliance can include eviction, though no one has ever been kicked out of their apartment over an air-conditioner, the authority said. But after air-conditioning units fell out of two windows in a housing project on the Upper East Side in recent weeks – one crashed onto a playground only a few feet from frolicking pre-schoolers – the housing authority is getting tough on residents’ attempts to stay cool. On Thursday, the authority held an emergency meeting for residents of the Holmes Towers on East 93rd Street, from where the air-conditioners fell, and the neighboring Isaacs Houses. More than 125 people crowded into a community center as housing authority officials explained the rules and regulations and held up the metal brackets that are supposed to be placed under some units.

The effort is soon to go citywide: the authority plans to send a letter to all public-housing residents across the city, in more than 178,000 apartments, reviewing the rules, which date back to 1992, said a spokeswoman for the authority, Sheila Stainback. At Thursday’s meeting at the Isaacs Houses senior center, many residents said that they understood the importance of installing the units properly, and several had already removed their units – some of which had been sitting in windows for years – and added brackets to the external wall for support. “If people need to comply, they should,” said Dorothy Fischetti, 64, a resident of the Isaacs Houses for more than 40 years. She said she spent $125 having brackets installed for her air-conditioning units two weeks ago after receiving a letter from the authority. Johanna Michael, 27, who moved into the Holmes Tower a few weeks ago, said “the brackets should be on there,” since it could be dangerous if a unit fell and hit someone.

Thankfully, that has rarely happened. In 1988, a pedestrian was killed by an air-conditioner that fell from a seventh-floor office window on East 23 Street, but since the May 29 incident in which an air-conditioner plummeted 20 stories into the Eisman Day Nursery playground, some tenants have been keeping an eye on the sky. “Instead of rain, it’s falling ACs,” Ms. Michael said. Several tenants expressed frustration with the tone of the housing authority’s letters. Some have received letters from the authority notifying them of their “ breach of rules and regulations / breach of lease: Improper installation of air-conditioner” and scheduling them for an appointment to meet with management and “discuss this important matter in detail.” The letter says that “air-conditioner deficiencies” must be fixed within three days and ends with the sentence, “A possible termination of tenancy may take place for noncompliance.” “It’s about safety, but it’s the way they’re doing it, they’re making people nervous,” said Octavia Flemister, 77, who has lived in the Isaacs Houses complex for 20 years.

The director of the Eisman Day Nursery, Sally Maldonado, said that she was still concerned for the safety of the children at her center. She has roped off the playground there with yellow police tape, and teachers are taking children to a neighboring playground for the rest of the summer. window ac unit frameMs. Maldonado said she had asked City Councilman Daniel R. Garodnick to consider putting a safety net over her playground, and if that fails, she will consider moving it away from the side of the Holmes Tower, she said.best central ac heating units But for the most part, residents said that they understood the need to make sure their air-conditioners were installed properly, even if that meant spending some time and money.window ac unit garage

“Who wants a freak accident?” “Do the right thing and follow protocol.”Ukrainian grandmother Angela Artyomova clasps an air-conditioning unit outside her flat for dear life as she waits for help to arrive. The 97-year-old was left hanging 35ft above street level, suspended from the fourth floor, after she toppled while cleaning windows. The spritely pensioner managed to grab hold of an air conditioning unit at her flat in the city of Rivne after the fall, and then get her foot wedged in the bracket holding it in place. Her terrified calls for help were enough to alert passers by who called firefighters, and she was still hanging on by the time firefighters arrived and rushed to get a ladder underneath her to help her back inside. Fire brigade officials said they had realised the situation was desperate when they arrived and had no time to set up an air cushion. They used a ladder to speedily get to the OAP - who had been hanging for at least 30 minutes before she was helped back inside.

The grandmother was taken to hospital suffering from shock.As summer settles in, building residents all across the city are dusting off their window-mounted air-conditioners. As far as façade inspections go, the reality is that these types of a/c units are not considered as serious an issue as cracked bricks or loose masonry. That's probably because there haven't yet been any high-profile cases in New York City of air-conditioners falling out of windows and injuring or killing someone. But a poorly installed air-conditioner can pose as much of a danger to pedestrians as unsafe façade conditions, so property managers and boards must make sure the units at their buildings are adequately secured.Building residents should make sure the air-conditioner has enough capacity to cool the room in which it will be used. It should have a dedicated outlet with the proper amount of electrical current. The air-conditioner should be braced from underneath with metal brackets, mounting rails, or similar supports, or firmly fastened from inside with supporting angles.

It's a common misconception that Local Law 11 absolutely requires brackets when installing window air conditioners in buildings over six stories, but this is untrue. In fact, air conditioner brackets aren't even mentioned in LL11.Anything used to adjust the position of the air-conditioner, such as shims, should be independently secured to prevent shifting caused by vibration, wind, or ice. The air-conditioner should remain in place when the window is opened, or secured so that the window cannot be opened accidentally. Dangers come not only from an improperly secured air-conditioner, but also from any loose objects used to support it. Bricks, wooden blocks, or phone books should never be wedged between an air-conditioner and the windowsill. Items such as flowerpots, satellite dishes, and bird feeders should not be placed on top of the unit, either.Aside from these general guidelines, there are factors specific to each installation that should be considered, such as the size and weight of the air-conditioner, the width of the window, the depth of the windowsill, the condition of the window frame, whether the unit is installed on the top or at the bottom of the window opening, and how much of the air-conditioner extends outside the window.

Building management should establish installation guidelines and procedures and make sure all residents comply. For example, management can establish a rule that window air-conditioners can be installed only by someone deemed "qualified," such as the building superintendent, a maintenance person, a technician from the store where the unit was bought, or perhaps an exterior contractor. Residents might be asked to complete a simple form verifying that a qualified installer put in the air-conditioner.To maintain a uniform standard of safety, it is probably not a good idea to permit residents to install window air-conditioners on their own, especially on street-facing façades. But boards and property managers should expect resistance from building residents who feel they can install an a/c unit themselves, especially if they've always done so in the past.It's therefore important for boards and property managers to work together to prepare building residents for a change in the rules. Now is the time to start sending out notices explaining why air-conditioner installation procedures have to change, and organize a shareholders' meeting to address concerns.