Thick plumes of noxious black smoke are terrorizing tenants in a luxe apartment building a block from Central Park.
“This impacts the health of hundreds of people,” raged Steven Katsman, a resident of 808 Columbus Ave.
Katsman said that for the past two months, he has been battling the two neighboring apartment buildings — 788 and 792 Columbus — whose chimneys have been belching the offensive gases from their oil-burning boilers.
At its worst, the thick smoke rose from the chimneys up to seven times in one hour, he said.
Katsman, his wife Jackie and their 23-month old daughter live in the 29-story building’s penthouse — but they haven’t been enjoying it much lately.
“We’re trying to sleep in other places when we can,” said Jackie Katsman, who added she’s suffered from a chronic cough, fatigue, nauseousness and headaches for weeks.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection said that it has inspected the buildings and that the smoke is connected to their conversion from oil to natural gas.
As part of the revised city Air Code, No. 6 heating oil — the dirtiest — will be banned after June 30.
The Chetrit Group, the Manhattan development company that owns the smoky buildings and also shelled out $26.5 million for the Hudson Yards site in 2012, did not respond to a Post inquiry.
“We don’t live in Afghanistan. How long does it take to fix this?” Katsman asked.