NYCHA nightmare continues after de Blasio's promises

 

Six months ago, Mayor de Blasio took office promising big changes for public housing, but that means little to Blanche Moore, who still has to deal with sickening black mold in her bathroom. “It’s the same,” said Moore, 61, a retired home health aide, who lives in the DeWitt Clinton Houses in East Harlem. “I don’t have a problem talking to them or anything. I just can’t get anybody to come and do the work.” Moore is one of 17 tenants who sued NYCHA in June on behalf of DeWitt Clinton’s 1,700 residents, demanding that the authority address dozens of repairs that date back years.

NYCHA nightmare continues after de Blasio's promises
Greg B. Smith
Sat, 28 Jun 2014 22:19:07 GMT

Council members, advocates call on city to provide low-income tenants with attorneys in housing court

Council members, advocates call on city to provide low-income tenants with attorneys in housing court

Fewer than 10% of tenants who were served with eviction papers in the city last year were able to have legal representation, according to the Metropolitan Council on Housing.

Council members, advocates call on city to provide low-income tenants with attorneys in housing court
Corinne Lestch
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 18:26:19 GMT

Surprise: Your Student Loans Make It Hard For You To Rent An Apartment

Surprise: Your Student Loans Make It Hard For You To Rent An Apartment

This week's NY Times millennial explainer comes courtesy of the student loan crisis, which, in addition to slowly eating away at the economy, is making it really difficult for recent graduates to be able to afford living in New York City. Can anyone afford to live here? [ more › ]

Surprise: Your Student Loans Make It Hard For You To Rent An Apartment
Rebecca Fishbein
Fri, 06 Jun 2014 19:50:00 GMT

NY1 for You: Tenants of Harlem Building Go Through Deep Freeze Without Heat, Hot Water

Some Harlem tenants are suffering through single-digit temperatures as the unreliable heat in their building is out.

NY1 for You: Tenants of Harlem Building Go Through Deep Freeze Without Heat, Hot Water
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 01:56:01 GMT

NY1 for You: Tenants of Harlem Building Say They Live in Decrepit Conditions

NY1 for You: Tenants of Harlem Building Say They Live in Decrepit Conditions

Tenants of one Harlem building say they're living in decrepit conditions, often without heat and hot water, and they're fed up.

NY1 for You: Tenants of Harlem Building Say They Live in Decrepit Conditions
Tue, 14 Jan 2014 22:01:28 GMT

Residents of Harlem Building Say They're Without Heat During Cold Snap

Residents of Harlem Building Say They're Without Heat During Cold Snap

New Yorkers are bundling up against the cold Monday evening with temperatures in the single digits, but some people in Harlem say they have to bundle up in their own apartments because they don't have heat.

Residents of Harlem Building Say They're Without Heat During Cold Snap
Tue, 07 Jan 2014 04:33:11 GMT

Polo Grounds residents seek repairs

Polo Grounds residents seek repairs

Residents of the Polo Grounds Towers are urging the New York City Housing Authority to speed up making repairs to apartments they say are falling apart.

Polo Grounds residents seek repairs
Ronald Chavez
Tue, 09 Jul 2013 22:17:49 GMT

Harlem house breaks record at $4M

Harlem house breaks record at $4M

A townhouse in the uptown neighborhood just sold for a record $4 million — the latest and most stunning step in the area’s rapid gentrification.

Harlem house breaks record at $4M
LAIGNEE BARRON
Tue, 09 Jul 2013 23:33:47 GMT

NYCHA axes full-time board members

NYCHA axes full-time board members

The Housing Authority’s full-time board members were out of jobs Thursday after Gov. Cuomo signed a bill that replaces them with volunteers. The old board included a full-time chairman, two full-time board members who made $187,000 a year and were assigned full-time drivers, and a tenant volunteer.

NYCHA axes full-time board members
Greg B. Smith
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 22:57:43 GMT

Bill Thompson Lays Into NYCHA Chair John Rhea, Calling For His Firing

Bill Thompson Lays Into NYCHA Chair John Rhea, Calling For His Firing

Mayoral hopeful says he's had "enough" of NYCHA chair John Rhea, whose firing he demanded Thursday.   "Enough, just, it's enough," Thompson told the crowd at a mayoral forum focused on Hurricane Sandy recovery.   Thompson called for Rhea's head citing as the last straw what he ...

Bill Thompson Lays Into NYCHA Chair John Rhea, Calling For His Firing
The Daily Politics
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:19:04 GMT

NYCHA Budget Clobbered By $205M In Federal Cuts

NYCHA Budget Clobbered By $205M In Federal Cuts

The New York City Housing Authority has confirmed that it is losing $205 million, or 11 percent, of its budget due to federal sequester cuts, and the agency says it is in the process of identifying immediate and long-term changes to balance its budget.

NYCHA Budget Clobbered By $205M In Federal Cuts
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:44:18 GMT

NY1 For You: Scaffolding Outside Harlem Building Cleaned Of Garbage

NY1 For You: Scaffolding Outside Harlem Building Cleaned Of Garbage

Some tenants of a Harlem building annoyed by a long-standing scaffolding that has become a dumping ground contacted NY1 For You, and NY1 For You got it cleaned up.

NY1 For You: Scaffolding Outside Harlem Building Cleaned Of Garbage
Thu, 30 May 2013 23:54:30 GMT

Photographic exhibit in Bronx gallery seeks to debunk myths of projects

Photographic exhibit in Bronx gallery seeks to debunk myths of projects

Through a series of stunning photographs, the exhibit “We the People” at the Gordon Parks Gallery in Mott Haven takes direct aim at the stereotypes often meted out on those living in public housing.

Photographic exhibit in Bronx gallery seeks to debunk myths of projects
TANYANIKA SAMUELS
Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:00:22 GMT

Brooklyn Tenants Forced To Use Stairs Since Sandy File Lawsuit

Brooklyn Tenants Forced To Use Stairs Since Sandy File Lawsuit

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and several advocacy groups announced Friday the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of a group of residents living in the Coney Island Houses who have been without elevator service since Hurricane Sandy.

Brooklyn Tenants Forced To Use Stairs Since Sandy File Lawsuit
Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:25:17 GMT

St. Nicholas Park Apartments To Give Preference To Displaced Sandy Victims

St. Nicholas Park Apartments To Give Preference To Displaced Sandy Victims

The St. Nicholas Park apartments in Harlem is the latest affordable housing complex that will give preference to those displaced by the storm.

St. Nicholas Park Apartments To Give Preference To Displaced Sandy Victims
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:55:33 GMT

Early Addition: Are Brooklyn Residents Moving To Manhattan Because Of High Rent?

Early Addition: Are Brooklyn Residents Moving To Manhattan Because Of High Rent?

Because you want to know how Tina Fey feels about Twitter, check out today's mid-day links: pimp James Franco, idiot Boerum Hill residents, cursed "smoking hot" model, "Arrested Development" easter egg, and surprise cat attack. Don't forget to follow Gothamist on Twitter and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here. [ more › ]

Early Addition: Are Brooklyn Residents Moving To Manhattan Because Of High Rent?
Ben Yakas
Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:50:00 GMT

Verizon Says Manhattan Landlords Want Cash for Cable

Verizon Says Manhattan Landlords Want Cash for Cable

Verizon is still mired in work trying to replace its massive copper-wire grid that was all but destroyed when Hurricane Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, but it's not replacing that old copper wiring with new copper wiring. It's replacing it with fiber optic lines, and that gives it a chance to try to sell more services to tenants whose buildings are getting upgraded by default. Unfortunately for the phone and cable company, not all landlords want it to replace their wiring with fiber optics, and Verizon says in a complaint to the city that some have either blocked it from accessing their buildings or, more insidiously, demanded thousands of dollars for access.

"A Verizon spokesman, John Bonomo, declined to say how much the landlords asked for, but cable-industry executives said building owners have sought as much as $150 per apartment in what are known as door fees. For a building like 11 Maiden Lane, that could translate to more than $10,000," The New York Times reports. An executive for the company that owns the building "said tenants at 11 Maiden Lane never lost phone service because of the storm and did not need the additional services that Verizon wanted to provide."

As the site DSL Reports notes, the conflict comes down to Verizon's desire to replace its old grid versus landlords' desire not to have their buildings worked on and tenants' desires to just get things back to normal. "The telco could get those users up and running again if they were willing to simply repair the copper, but they're choosing not to do that." One technician told the blog, "I have spoken with many customers that are currently refusing FIOS — most of them prefer the reliability of POTS."

Read more posts by Adam Martin

Filed Under: verizon ,hurricane sandy ,fios ,telephones

Verizon Says Manhattan Landlords Want Cash for Cable
Adam Martin
Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:10:19 GMT