As inmates are left to suffer without heat and electricity during the city's frigid cold spell, community members rallied outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

One of the protesters shouted, "16 hundred human beings freezing for a week, over a week already.”

Sources tell NY1 detainees have been without light, heat, hot water and phones since last Sunday because of an electrical fire.

But a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons says despite a partial outage there is heat and hot water in cells and lighting in common areas.

The sound of inmates banging on the on the windows to bring attention to the issues could be heard Friday evening.

Reverend Al Sharpton calls the situation inhumane. "Can you imagine being locked up, freezing and can't do nothing about it. And they're rattling at the windows. This is worse than countries that we denounce.”

“I'm gonna be here every day until we can get in there. I want to see my son; I want to talk to my son," one protester added.

Tensions rose today between protestors and correction guards outside of the facility.

The mayor is pinning the blame on the federal government tweeting, "The federal government has massively failed the people being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. I'm sending in city agencies now with our federal representatives to assess the situation and see how we can help."