Tenants and officials call for $100M NYCHA roof repairs

But Governor Cuomo has other plans for the funds

Gov. Cuomo, a leaky NYCHA building and a resident of Clinton Houses in East Harlem making a statement to officials (source: NYDN)
Gov. Cuomo, a leaky NYCHA building and a resident of Clinton Houses in East Harlem making a statement to officials (source: NYDN)

Tenants and some city officials are fighting Governor Cuomo’s decision to block the New York City Housing Authority from spending $100 million in state funds to repair its roofs.

At a City Council hearing, even former critics of NYCHA praised the agency’s plan to replace 123 leaky roofs, according to the New York Daily News. But Cuomo plans to fund smaller projects suggested by Assembly members instead.

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“This is simply an unfair distribution of resources and a waste of money,” Aixa Torres, tenant association president at the Alfred E. Smith Houses, told the Daily News. “This money should be used for roof replacement. Other needs exist, but the money should go where it’s needed most.”

In April, Cuomo announced that $100 million was set aside to assist NYCHA, although he refuses to give the money directly to the agency “due to its track record of mismanaging funds.” [NYDN] Christopher Cameron