NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] residents continue to face unfair, unhealthy and unacceptable living conditions around our city.

From

Cuomo backing out of promises for more funding for necessary and long overdue fixes
Being left out of lucrative re-zoning plans that could bring much needed funding to the developments
To residents dealing with brown water coming from their taps

The more than 500,000 public housing residents in New York continue to face a host of injustices and struggles

Recently, three of the Trellis Crew attended some NYCHA meetings to hear the concerns, struggles and questions from residents.

~6 minute read

“I attended a Whitman housing meeting with Shaquana [one of our community allies in Fort Greene] regarding our current issues within the complexes and area. We discussed issues about community facilities old and new and what some of the issues in the buildings are. I presented, first talking about our common enemy unfair justice system and my DA meeting alternatives and things of that nature. There is also a lady there who worked for the DA and she later spoke after me. We discussed how housing sells pieces of property to create these high-rise and how they have tried to get rid of Whitman for a very long time and turn the buildings into co-ops. Ms.Lee [the Whitman Houses tenant president] told us that in 1995 they tried to move the majority of all tenants out of Whitman because they wanted to turn the houses into co-ops but they could not because they made a deal stating that all tenets who had a working paying job and had been in the residence for five years or longer could stay and other tenants who were on a fixed income needed to move out and would be paid to move out. They would also be helped moved to another area such as East new York or the Bronx, but the reason why this plan did not follow through was because there were more tenants on fixed incomes then jobs so they did not move them out. We also talked about the rat problem and some heating problems how some apartments have too much heat (such as mine) and others don’t have any heat at all, House some lines are completely blocked off at heat And people’s houses can be freezing cold or House some can be 85° Too hot. But more or less we address the majority of the issues that we had within my complexes and how we the people need to do better at making these complaints for more change.”

— Veronica Taylor

“In the middle of an on and off snow storm, The people of Warren st Nycha housing came together and shared their raw emotion in a tense meeting. Parents of all ages attended this community meeting that was hosted in 572 Warren st, In a lowkey meeting room that was not enough room. I’m sure we passed Mass capacity but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the topic at hand. Mayor De Blasio is planning to put NYCHA into the hands of private landlords using a HUD program called Rental Assistance Demonstration, or also known as RAD. The amount of negative backlash the community gave to the representatives of RAD at this meeting was intense. Arguments Broke out, Threats were sent, and confusion filled the room. People did not enjoy the idea of being evicted from their homes. One representative informed us that “if you do not get your name signed on the lease, you will be evicted and kicked out.” That stoke the flame to something that was heated. People questioned financial and Eviction rules under RAD. This was one of several community meetings hosted about RAD but none as heated as this one. The passion people have for figuring out if They are getting kicked out or not is purely interesting. Although it’s a community meeting, there was also a lot of tension between the people that attended. People were annoyed by the fact that 1, There was no room to move around, 2 people that just came in couldn’t even fully see what was happening in the meeting because the space was so small and the crowd was so large. The Room was full of genuine people trying to obtain as much information and fight for their families, But brought tension with them. One polite man stated “we are a community, we cannot be against each other. We need to stop arguing and figure it out as a community, because we’re all in the same boat and need each other’s help equally.” This not only cleared the air for people who get uncomfortable for tension that was brought out by some, but also clarified the fact that even though people are giving intense energy, it’s because we are all concerned about the same thing. No one wants to get convicted and even though people brought different energies, It’s still a blessing to know even in our darkest moments, we still can come together as a community.”

— Khalil Baxter

“My first time at a community meeting, especially in the park slope/ Gowanus neighborhood. I’ve always heard of them and saw the signs posted in hallways at my grandmas building (Roosevelt Houses). Despite all of that, I’ve never been able to go first hand like I did on January 21st, 2020.
I was told it would start at 6pm, I showed up at 6:20pm and only a fourth of the seats were filled. I took the time to survey the crowd and take in my surroundings. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd, some elderly & some millennial since I’m familiar with the area.

At around 6:49pm the meeting had yet to start and tensions continued to arise and I sensed that everyone was becoming impatient. Many pamphlets and flyers were passed out and the room was buzzing with conversation. I had become increasingly amazed at the turnout being that initially there were so few people. To then needing more rows of chairs. It was truly special to see a community to show up and show out in such strong numbers because there’s strength and power in that.

Once the meeting began, I became disgruntled in a way knowing that these people, NYCHA representatives had many ulterior motives. It felt like they were predators and the tenants of warren street was and is the prey. They continuously talked as if everything was signed, sealed and delivered. I heard things like “we expect the conversion to happen in February”. And, “once construction starts you will be seeing more of him”. Things that implied that they are expecting the green light from all tenants. I felt that the conversation was not really a conversation and everything was really passive aggressive. I’m looking forward to seeing how this transition period goes for the neighborhood as they begin to truly understand what NYCHA has planned.”

— Kiandra Jones

In view of these RAD [rental assistance demonstration] building conversions planned for NYHCA residences all around the city, many residents, in line with what our crew heard are upset and scared about what this might mean for their apartments and future.