Affordable Gas Heating Discussed At Property Owners Meeting

Story by Chris Boyle.

Gas was on the minds of the men and women attending this month’s meeting of the Levittown Property Owners Association; natural heating gas, and how to get it installed in their homes affordably.

The Association welcomed Levittown resident John Duffy, the newly-appointed chairman of a committee whose purpose is to find an effective way for National Grid to supply gas heating to any Levittown resident who desires it - a prospect that Duffy says is currently a difficult and costly one compared to neighboring communities.

“Every other town around us has the choice of whether they want gas or oil heat...why can’t we have it?” he said. “Why can’t we have gas? They run transmission lines through out town, with almost no connection to the homeowners here.”

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Duffy stated that his home is located 2,800 feet from a gas main, and that National Grid currently charges $101 per linear foot to run lines from that main into a resident’s home (with the first 100 feet being free). This level of pricing, Duffy says, makes the decision to transition to natural gas too expensive for most people to make.

LPOA Vice President Tom Caro shared some statistics on the benefits of using natural gas heat in their homes when compared with oil.

“The average cost of heating a home with oil in 2012 was $2535, compared to $732 with natural gas,” he said. “That’s per a report published in Scientific American...those numbers may not be equivalent to what we pay here, but you can see the percentages. Natural gas is cheaper.”

Duffy added that, due to modern technology, it would no longer be necessary to tear up streets to install gas lines into residents’ homes; installation is now far easier and less intrusive on the surrounding community.Assemblyman Tom McKevitt (R-East Meadow), whose territory has been relocated partially to Levittown due to recent re-districting, has joined in the efforts to provide natural gas to his constituents. Lynn Schaefering, Chief of Staff for McKevitt, attended the meeting, and read a response she had received from National Grid regarding stumbling blocks involving Levittown and its acquisition of gas heating.
 
“Unfortunately, Levittown is an area that has historically been difficult for gas because the majority of homes don’t have basements,” she said. “Also, the heating units are typically located in the center of the homes, thus raising the costs of the work being done by the plumber.”Several members of the LPOA volunteered to join Duffy’s committee to research possible solutions that would make acquiring natural gas heat more affordable, and regular monthly reports will be shared with the community as they make progress in their newly-begun endeavor.

Also discussed at the meeting was a series of hearings due to be held by the Town of Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday, regarding two areas of contention with Levittown residents.

The areas of dispute are “substandard” construction located on Crocus Lane and a petition to remove no parking signs in front of a residential home that is being turned into a dentist’s office; things that LPOA President Jim Morrow said that would affect quality of life for locals.
 
“We’re talking about the character of our town,” Morrow said. “Plus, why can’t these people open up a store on Hempstead Turnpike instead in a residential neighborhood? There will be more people, more parking, and they won’t be interfering with anything.”

What do you think of switching your home to natural gas? Tell us in the comments below.