Sort of like a Gypsy, I've lived in various places all over Canarsie since I was born. For a short time I resided in the Glenwood Houses, and after my teen years I lived in the Breukelen Houses for nearly 10 years. In addition, having family at the Bayview Houses made me somewhat aware of the conditions that exist in public housing buildings.
Politicians all over the city recently blasted the Housing Authority. Recent press releases pointed to a lack of security cameras and a $10 million consultant report that was kept secret. The Daily News conducted its own report on how NYCHA management should be revamped – stating that, “Beleaguered agency boss John Rhea admitted for the first time that NYCHA has a backlog of 338,000 maintenance orders.” It's sad when you look at the figures. According to the Daily News, NYCHA spent $5 million on a storage facility that held $10 million of inventory. Another finding was that NYCHA “randomly pays anywhere from $8 to $28 per gallon for white paint rather than finding the best deal.”
In 2004, the Canarsie Courier reported that a 57- year-old Bayview Houses woman died after being exposed to excessive steam pouring from a broken pipe under her first floor apartment, which was located right over the maintenance room. Police reports stated that the woman lived in an apartment that reached 112 degrees the morning she passed away. Neighbors who were interviewed at the time said the apartments at the time got extremely hot during the winter months and some had to open their windows despite the cold weather outside.What's the best deal? Published reports say that the removal of two of NYCHA's board members, is the first step toward improving conditions and making sure the agency's budget is in check. Are we really supposed to be surprised at NYCHA officials – and the agency as a whole – for their lack of management?
I'm sure there are hundreds of similar cases in the city where “repairs” are delayed for various reasons that seemingly make no sense. A lot of statements released by Housing officials say there are, “Not enough contractors,” or “It's the wrong time of the year to make these repairs,” or, “There are limited maintenance crews available to inspect the problem.” But in every press release that attempts to respond to a major repair that makes the news, they'll swear up and down that they are “aware of the problems.”
Just last month, we uncovered the uselessness of the scaffolding at Breukelen Houses at East 108th Street near Farragut Road. How much did it cost to assemble all that material and how much did the city pay its workers to build the scaffolding to “nowhere,” where no actual structural work has been done? Could the money have been better spent on immediate repairs inside some of the apartment buildings that look like they're decaying?
Sometimes, a simple toilet bowl issue, clogged sink pipes, and wall and ceiling lights requires “special parts” to work. The problems were endless and at times it seemed worth it just to hire someone illegally on the side to get the repairs over with! One question I have is: If housing residents could afford to pay someone on the side to make minor repairs themselves, would the city then have “enough funds” to do the bigger jobs?
Let's get real. Anyone who lives in these city buildings knows that reorganizing funding and getting new head honchos might not result in long-term change. While I agree that the big guys need to keep things in order, what about the management and receptionists at specific local buildings who give you an attitude?
If you live in Bayview, Glenwood, or Breukelen Houses, how many times have you called the “main office” to settle an issue, only to deal with someone nasty and arrogant who obviously hates their city job. Second, some brilliant SOB at NYCHA decided that if a complaint is placed – even with the housing's Emergency Department – and isn't taken care of within a day, the job ticket closes and the tenant has to place a NEW repair ticket the next business day. This isn't just irresponsible, it gives NYCHA a reason not to spend money right away on repairs. If all you need is a part for your radiator, or say, a window in your building is broken, delaying repairs means NOT sending a contractor to your apartment and then the city doesn't have to pay anyone to do anything. The city also assumes that no one living in the projects has a job – so they'll send a maintenance worker to your apartment at any hour. Or, you'll call out of work for a day waiting for maintenance to check out your problem and they don't show up. Great!
What angers me is that the city seems to be taking advantage of low-income residents, as if to say, “You don't make enough money to live in a private home, so we'll get to you whenever we want.”
I highly doubt revamping NYCHA's board members and finances will change living conditions in their buildings. Many residents like myself remember a time when complaints went answered and they could actually live in their apartments without being embarrassed by deteriorating conditions. Everyone deserves to live in a healthy and fully-functioning home – maybe the high-and-mighty city officials should shack up in one of their buildings for a year and get a taste of their own medicine!
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