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New York City failing as landlord: report
More than a third of residents say poor heating and leaks are continual problems
Could New York City appear on its own worst landlords list? A new report expected to be released on Monday suggests that the city is falling short in its management of the city’s public housing system, which serves more than 400,000 families.
The report — “Strengthening New York City’s Public Housing: Directions for Change,” by the Community Service Society, a nonprofit advocacy group for low-income New Yorkers — is based on data from 2011.
The report shows that more than a third of public housing residents said poor heating, leaks and the lack of major repairs were problems plaguing their every day lives. In private residences, 17 percent of low-income tenants complained about these same things.
Over the course of the last decade, conditions in New York City Housing Authority buildings have deteriorated rapidly as the structures age. Meanwhile, financial support from the city, state and federal government has dwindled.
One potential solution, according to the report, is to hold NYCHA accountable through the same channels as private landlords in the city. Currently, NYCHA is exempt from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s database of building code violations and its residents can’t call 311 with their housing complaints. [WSJ] — Claire Moses