Residents riled over Sotomayor renaming

Sonia Sotomayor

A 33-building affordable housing complex in the Bronx is set to be renamed after one of its famous former residents, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, according to the New York Post. But residents at the Bronxdale Houses in Soundview say that the New York City Housing Authority’s decision to rename the development is a slap in the face after decades of neglect and disrepair. Conditions there have grown so bad that the complex nearly failed a recent federal Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection, which found numerous violations including outdated appliances, damaged walls and missing smoke detectors. Residents now say that more maintenance workers have been sent to make cosmetic upgrades to the complex’s exterior, including mowing the grass and painting fences, something they say is meant to cover up neglect during an upcoming naming ceremony at the buildings. [Post]