Official leaders order NYCHA to address living condition in Brooklyn
Elected officials in Brooklyn have ordered the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to address “poor” living conditions at the Bushwick Houses.
On Saturday May 14, 2022, elected leaders such as Councilmember Jennifer Gutierrez, Rep. Nydia M.Velázquez, Assemblymember Maritza Davila, Sen. Julia Salazar, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso drew the attention of the NYCHA leadership to the leaks and mold issues in at least 17 apartments at 24 Humboldt Street.
Lamenting the effect of the condition, Juanita Ayala, a resident of the complex stated that her pots and pans have covered her living room floor for three months.
She complained that a leak started ruining a wall and her cabinets in her kitchen.
According to Ayala, her cabinets were wet inside because they were almost in the floor after removing them from the the wall.
She said after removing the cabinets from the wall, NYCHA staff have failed to come to put them back.
“When they took out these cabinets mice, roaches, everything inside the wall in there,” she said.
Advocates with the knowledge of the conditions lamented that the issue has been going on since last spring.They stated that images from other apartments in the building show paint peeling, yellow stains, mold all from leaks throughout the building.
According to residents at other buildings at the complex, issues are prevalent in all the buildings.
Confirming the “poor” living condition, a resident at 811 Flushing Ave, Natonia Dutes, reported that management didn’t take the issue seriously.
She complained that most times they never come out to repair damage in her ceiling from a leak, stressing that her boyfriend comes to assist her.
“It was all yellow and nasty looking. So I got on the ladder I scraped it. My ex-boyfriend was here with me. He scraped it with me. We scraped it as good as we got. And then we used the sander in there, I had to buy my own supplies so I can fix the apartment,” she narrated.
Dutes stated replacement of her floors, her fridge and her stove all herself, did nothing to prevent leaks in two of her walls.
She expected that the leaks are remedied on time.
“It’s unacceptable for anyone to wait this long,” she lamented.
NYCHA reported that its staff and plumbers have been working to address these leaks, stressing that the staff will continue to identify and repair these lines until all work is completed. “Our dedicated staff works 24/7 to address issues caused by crumbling infrastructure due to decades of disinvestment.”
NYCHA noted that plumbers had made some repairs to at least five leaks on the H and I kitchen riser lines and stack stoppages on March 22.
“The roof drain on the F line was repaired on April 4,” NYCHA said in a statement.
It said the Authority are working on repairs to the D line and have scheduled repairs for early next week on the waste line on the F and G lines.
NYCHA emphasized that after the repair of all the leaks, plastering, painting and carpentry work needed in affected units will be expedited and coordinated.
