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New York

NYCHA has allowed some 80 homes to rot in Queens

The Housing Authority has abandoned homes in some cases for decades

Abandoned NYC homes
Abandoned NYC homes

WEEKENDEDITION The New York City Housing Authority owns roughly 80 homes that it has left abandoned, in some cases for decades.

For instance, NYCHA has owned a home in St. Albans, Queens for 15 years that it has left to rot. The windows are broken and the grass is overgrown and in 2007, a dog-fighting ring briefly moved in, according to the New York Post.

“I’ve lived next door to this monstrosity … and pulled down all the weeds and done so much like it’s mine,” Kathleen Gittens-Baptiste, who has tried for years to buy the building from the city, said.

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NYCHA obtained the homes in the late 1970s from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but after tenants moved or passed away, the city never moved in new tenants.

Now, according to a draft of their 2015 fiscal year plan, the Housing Authority plans to finally dispose of the houses because they “represent an inefficient allocation of housing resources.”

“We know the negative influence [the vacant homes] can create in these communities,” a NYCHA spokesperson said. “We’re identifying partners who can make use of these assets to increase affordable housing.” [NYP] – Christopher Cameron

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