Mayor Bill de Blasio announces repairs. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
The repairs will be made possible through public-private partnerships. On November 18, 2018, Mayor de Blasio announced that NYCHA has committed to $13 billion in repairs to 62,000 of its units. The renovations include new kitchens and bathrooms, replacement of windows, elevators, boilers, and roofs, and improvements to common areas. The repairs will affect approximately 140,000 residents, who will “retain all their rights as public housing residents, pay rent limited to 30 percent of their income, and remain in their buildings during the renovations,” according to the press release. (read more…)
Image Credit: Office of the Comptroller.
NYCHA residences throughout the five boroughs have serious security lapses from propped open and broken doors. On October 12, 2018, the City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released the results of an investigative survey on the exterior door security at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments. Between July and August 2018, auditors visited 299 NYCHA developments and observed the conditions of exterior doors. The auditors observed 4,551 doors in development in the five boroughs. (read more…)
Image Credit: NYCHA.
Son lived in mother’s apartment to care for her in her last years, but had not been granted permanent permission to live in the apartment. Victoria Aponte was the tenant of record, and sole authorized occupant, of a one-bedroom apartment located in a NYCHA-owned housing development at 150 West 174th Street in the Bronx. In 2009, Ms. Aponte’s son, Jonas Aponte, moved into the apartment to assist his mother who had been diagnosed with advanced dementia and could not live alone without regular assistance. During Ms. Aponte’s lifetime Mr. Aponte submitted two requests for permanent permission to live with his mother. NYCHA denied both requests, stating that approval would violate NYCHA’s rules by creating an overcrowded condition in a one-bedroom apartment. (read more…)
Council Member Ben Kallos at the press conference on renovation and upgrade to the Isaacs Center. Image credit: Council Member Ben Kallos.
Senior center and youth center in NYCHA housing will have kitchen and bathrooms upgraded. On June 8, 2018, City Council Member Ben Kallos, together with the New York City Housing Authority, announced the start of renovations and upgrades for the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center. The Isaacs Center is located in Holmes Towers at 415 East 93rd Street. Construction is expected to be completed by February 2019 and full completion and use of the facility scheduled to be available by July 31, 2019. (read more…)
Image credit: Office of the Mayor.
De Blasio Administration will focus on reducing rat population through different extermination measures. On April 17, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new rat extermination plan for the NYCHA’s ten most rat-infested developments. The extermination plan is part of the Mayor’s $32 million Neighborhood Rat Reduction Program to reduce rat populations in the most infested City neighborhoods: Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Chinatown, East Village, and Lower East Side in Manhattan, and Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. This plan is also furthers the de Blasio Administration’s goal to preserve and strengthen public housing. (read more…)
Broken Spiral Slide. Image credit: City of New York Office of the Comptroller.
549 NYCHA-owned playgrounds have hazardous conditions and lack of repair and maintenance records. On April 4, 2018, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit of New York City Housing Authority playgrounds’ conditions and maintenance. NYCHA is responsible for the maintenance of each development’s playgrounds. Results from playground inspections are required to be entered into NYCHA’s electronic system for tracking maintenance and physical repair work. However, the Comptroller’s audit shows that NYCHA failed to consistently maintain playgrounds. (read more…)
