Given this, many residents informed us that they would prefer to have an official in charge who has familiarity with the unique issues facing NYCHA, such as a long-time employee, or a former NYCHA resident. With such a large and complex organization, it is clear that NYCHA faces issues that are unique from any other housing authority in the country. Keep in mind that 1 in 14 New York City residents lives in the 328 developments across New York City of NYCHA housing. Many residents recognize that NYCHA is a unique housing authority because of how large it is and how many residents it serves. Hand in hand with this comes unsafe stairwells, which house sleeping drug addicts and lead to criminal activity, and make residents fearful every time they have to take the stairs to reach their apartment. This loophole makes illegal activity inevitable, despite how easily preventable it is. Although this could easily be prevented by a doorman, residents that we interviewed felt that they had to take their own safety precautions since there aren’t doormen present at every entrance of the building, although many stated there was a doorman at one of the multiple entrances at their residences. In order to avoid the crime present at many of these houses, residents feel that it is imperative that they arrive and stay at home before sundown, as arriving at home at dusk could jeopardize their safety. Crime and drug activity are another complaint. Many residents stated that they had some sort of cockroach presence within their houses, with many having to change the insecticides that they spray each week as the insects become resistant to it. This is the same stairwell in which Officer Peter Liang shot and killed unarmed victim Akai Gurley on November 21st, 2014. Because of how slow these water damage repairs have been addressed, many residents find themselves dealing with extensive mold issues which are detrimental to their health.Ī dimly lit stairwell in the Louis H. The main complaint appears to be water damage, as many residents complain about the lack of response to their repair requests for such damage. However, due to neglect and lack of funding over the past few years, residents have voiced that the inside of their buildings is unsafe and in desperate need of repair. According to multiple interviews from our classmates, residents believed that their residence halls looked alright from the outside since the brick exterior making up all NYCHA buildings was meant to last. Throughout classmates’ interviews of NYCHA residents, one underlying theme came up repeatedly: the inside of houses needed much more repair than is evident from the outside. A neglected bathroom in the Melrose Houses, Bronx NY, which has clearly had untreated water damage.
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