UES Neighbors Fume Over Boiler Truck That’s Been Heating One Building For Years

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A “temporary” boiler truck has been sitting on East 65th Street for years — and Upper East Siders are starting to lose patience.

The issue surfaced at Community Board 8’s November Transportation Committee meeting, where residents packed the Zoom room to debate a neighbor’s proposal to create a commercial loading zone along the south side of East 65th Street between First and Second Avenues (more precisely, between 320 and 360 East 65th Street).

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But while the board ultimately voted that idea down, it quickly became clear that the real sore spot wasn’t delivery trucks replacing parking spots — it’s the hulking boiler parked near First Avenue.

The truck-sized metal unit occupies the curb in a space that’s technically supposed to be a no-standing zone — meaning it’s blocking a loading area residents say the block actually needs. Another speaker described it as a “portable heater” parked in front of a mostly vacant building that “hasn’t been touched in years.”

Committee co-chair Chuck Warren agreed to investigate, calling it “very strange” and questioning how any building could “get away with having a portable truck like that” as its heat source (especially for such a long period of time).

The Department of Buildings and DOT are expected to be looped in to determine whether the boiler is even permitted (we’ve contacted both agencies as well). Several board members speculated that the site may be tied to a future redevelopment — and that the boiler might be one of those “temporary” fixes that became permanent through neglect.

According to public records, the owner of the building being serviced by the mobile heater, 349 East 65th Street (or 1205 First Avenue), is Kamran Hakim, a reported billionaire with a massive portfolio of NYC buildings. Hakim demolished three of his next door buildings several years ago (1209-1213 First Avenue).

The board voted unanimously to reject the block-wide loading-zone proposal but promised to pursue answers about the rogue boiler. For now, though, it remains exactly where it’s been for years — a rusting monument to Upper East Side inertia.

UPDATE: After publishing this article, a DOB spokesperson replied to our inquiry and said:

• The property owner at 349 E 65th Street hired a company to install this mobile boiler to provide heat and hot water for several tenants living in the building.
• The boiler that was previously servicing 349 E 65th Street was in an adjacent building, 1209 1st Ave, that was demolished in 2020.
• Use of a mobile boiler is legal, but it requires a DOB permit. DOB issued a permit for this mobile boiler on 11/16/2019, and it has been renewed several times, with the current permit set to expire on 12/31/2025.

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