Five Jersey City families ordered out of building PSE&G says was getting power illegally

Published: Saturday, March 17, 2012, 3:00 AM
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Five families had to vacate their homes in a six-family Jersey City building after Public Service Electric & Gas found tenants were getting their power illegally and cut the service, officials said today.

At 11:54 a.m. Thursday, PSE&G called the Jersey City Fire Department to the building at 139 Wilkinson Ave. and fire officials evacuated the building, which no longer had heat or working smoke alarms due to the electricity being turned off, Fire Director Armando Roman said.

Roman said the building owner paid for hotel rooms for the tenants and hired cabs to transport them. It is estimated that more than $5,000 in PSE&G bills are owed, Roman said, adding that firefighters padlocked the building.