NORTHAMPTON — Some tenants of the Arts and Industry building resorted to renting their own generators Thursday after nearly a week without electricity.
Tenants have been in the dark since Oct. 28, when the building’s main transformer blew. The old Brushworks building at 221 Pine St. is home to businesses and art studios.
Many of the four-story manufacturing building’s hallways are windowless and so even during the daytime it can be hard to navigate without electricity.
“Everybody’s kind of freaked out and there’s been no communication,” said Jeff Shotland, owner of Rising Tide Imports, which operates through rented space within the building.
Building owner Herbert Berezin was not immediately available for comment, though notes from Brushworks Management were taped on all the doorways.
“There is a malfunction in the main transformer to the building,” the note reads. “The elevator is inoperable, there is not heat and there is sporadic power throughout the building. We have been working on this throughout the weekend and hopefully will have it fixed soon.”
Two of the notices included a handwritten update advising tenants a generator will be running by noon on Friday.
Raisa Sandstrom, an employee of Rising Tide, said the business spent about $115 to rent a generator on Thursday because they’d gone too long without power to track shipments and write invoices.
“Especially this time of year, we send out so many boxes a day,” Sandstrom said, adding that many in the building are selling their wares in advance of the holiday season. “All the artists — this is food out of their kids’ mouths.”
At around 5:30 p.m. Thursday Ananda Khalsa headed into darkness to the jewelry shop she owns upstairs, balancing boxes and bags.
“I’m kind of scared, it’s so dark in there,” she said. “It’s not a good situation, that’s for sure.”
The darkness also gave martial arts teacher Jeff Rosen pause as he readied to teach a class upstairs. He said he worried about sending students up the dark stairwells. Sandstrom said Feeding Tube Records had to cancel an art opening on Wednesday.
Jane Herzenberg, who has a studio in the building, said she’s just glad property managers will be bringing a generator well in advance of the annual Open Studios event on Nov. 12 and 13.
“I think it’s all on track,” she said, with her flashlight handy. “By Friday at noon it should be all set.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.