: 1218725636

Bellanira Sanchez has lived in the building at 147-25 Sanford Ave. for 23 years. She is the president of the Tenants’ Association and has acted as a mother figure for fellow resident Jermaine Rengifo.

“I’ve known Sanchez all my life,” Rengifo said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of others through this. I’ve gotten to know them a lot better.”

The residents of the 90-unit building were first unified when a small kitchen fire on June 11 knocked out gas service. The entire building was also without hot water for three weeks.

According to sources, Con Edison returned gas service on July 23. Two days later, on July 25, there was a gas explosion at 4:24 p.m., which left 17 people injured.

“I’m not a fan of speculation,” Rengifo said. “Most of what they’ve found is Con Edison dropping the ball. A gas valve was left open.”

Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. (D-Astoria), however, is more readily placing blame on the company.

“Con Ed has a long history of manipulating information and distorting the truth to protect its own interests,” Vallone said. “We need an independent investigation to determine the cause of this explosion and hold this company accountable if they were negligent.”

Once the Department of Buildings lifted the vacate order, building tenants returned to find their belongings missing.

“The only thing I have to gripe about is people were in and out of my apartment,” Rengifo said. “It was a clean-up crew hired by the landlord.”

Flushing’s elected officials are calling foul.

“The callous disregard with which these residents have been treated is utterly reprehensible,” Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) said. “It’s so hard to imagine not being allowed into your own home, even to get your necessities like medication, documents and other valuables; seeing your belongings being thrown out in dumpsters, and having no idea what’s going on or what to expect next because no one is communicating with you. At best, these actions are nauseating incompetence, and at worst, despicable cover-up of wrongful actions.”

The building’s owner is claiming the City ordered him to dispose of tenants’ belongings because of contamination. However, none of the City agencies will take responsibility for making such a demand.

“The building owner Alwall Construction must admit who told them to discard personal belongings, family possessions and irreplaceable documents,” State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) said. “The finger pointing must stop. Harry Truman had a famous sign on his desk in the White House ‘The buck stops here.’ For Flushing, the buck hasn’t stopped anywhere.”

Nearby J.H.S. 189 served as a shelter for those left homeless by the explosion. In addition, funds were collected from the families of J.H.S. 189, the Church of the Revelation in the Bronx, the Korean Parents Association of J.H.S. 189, the Princeton Review, the Korean American Association and the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York.

The families living in the 20 apartments affected most by the explosion gathered at J.H.S. 189 on Aug. 4 to be presented with the checks.

“I think it’s fantastic. This can help people to recover,” Rengifo said, adding that he was once a student at the junior high school.