Clarke Authors Letter to NYCHA to Require Action for Resident Safety and Accountability
New York, NY – In response to a recent Federal Monitor report about housing conditions at NYCHA, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) led a letter to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to address several items of concern within the report. Clarke was joined by Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Max Rose (NY-11), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Grace Meng (NY-06) and Eliot Engel (NY-16) in this letter requesting an imminent action plan from NYCHA.
Clarke said: “I am disheartened and deeply concerned to hear reports of how New Yorkers are living in many NYCHA properties. New Yorkers should be able to trust the safety of their living conditions and not be exposed to the presence of lead-based paint, mold nor pests, and the lack of heat and hot water and constant elevator outages in NYC Housing needs to be remedied.”
NYCHA was tasked with crafting action plans in June 2018 following a complaint against living conditions within NYCHA. But some of the conditions described in the Federal Monitor’s report require immediate attention, even prior to the full implementation of these plans.
Clarke continued: “I understand there are funding constraints at NYCHA, and that NYCHA staff are working hard every day, but we are talking about human beings who are directly impacted and forced to live in squalor. My fellow colleagues and I look forward to an expedient action plan from NYCHA to address these concerns, which have been outlined in today’s letter to NYCHA because every single New Yorker deserves to live in safe, healthy conditions.”
A champion for affordable, safe housing, Rep. Clarke recently introduced the Hardest Hit Housing Act, which would massively expand funding for public housing authorities.
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