“All New Yorker’s deserve to live in safe and decent housing, which is why we’ve been investing in NYCHA since the first day of my administration to reverse the decades of neglect.” (former Mayor De Balsio, 2018)
My family and I have lived in NYCHA for more than six years. I have moved from Staten Island to Brooklyn and have noticed a significant difference in the areas compared to other neighborhoods.
Much like me, there are residents who were born and lived as NYCHA residents for more than 20 years; even starting their own families and raising them in the area.
However, it seems NYCHA has had a huge change from its early start to now. I want to tell the stories of residents and their experiences living in the developments, and investigate the goals and establishment of early NYCHA and how it compares to now.
Origin and Goal
NYCHA, which stands for New York City Housing Authority, has been around since the early 1930s. The development was founded by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in order to relieve “the housing crisis” resulting from the Great Depression (“New York,” 2016). The development was a way to diminish poverty, slum clearance as some call it, and create affordable housing. Believe it or not, NYCHA was the first corporation to provide and finance public housing in the United States.
Key information:
- NYCHA provides housing in all five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Queens.
- Lower-income residents were prohibited from applying to NYC public housing.
- In 1935, old apartment buildings were renovated becoming the First Houses located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
- In 1937 and 1938 Harlem River and Williamsburg Houses were constructed from scratch and added to NYCHA development.
- The developments were segregated with the Black community living in Harlem River Houses and the White community living in Williamsburg.
- By the late 1940s, nearly 2,770 families who made over $3,000 were evicted.
- From 1953 up until 1968, screening was used to determine potential residents. However, application questions regarding work, single parenting, and a sufficient amount of furniture targeted residents on welfare; rejecting them.
- By the 1980s, NYCHA began experiencing a rise in crime, drugs, and vandalism.
How is it like today (has the purpose changed) ?
The goal and finances that went into funding NYCHA took a turn for the worst after the 1980s. Funding became nonexistent as the government focused on other aspects. And the focus of providing housing to reduce poverty has no longer been the goal. There have been stories of mismanagement ignoring resident complaints and workers “fragrantly closing out work orders” of more than 150,000 (CBS 2018).
Many residents have experienced the biggest problems of water leakage, safety, infestation, massive chunks of paint peeling, and heating just to name a few. None of the issues have been fixed.
The list of issues with NYCHA continues to grow and plague residents today. Upon a Google search of NYCHA you can find articles upon articles of unsolved damages. Along with lawsuits against them by both the government and residents. Currently, NYCHA is facing legal action due to secret water testing done.
Key information:
- In 2018, former Mayor De Blasio promised millions of dollars to help improve NYCHA and continue expanding the development.
- As of 2022, NYCHA still has not received the funds for improvements.
- According to The Legal Aid Society, between 2019 and 2020, there were about 819 heat outages.
- From 2020 to 2021, there were 2,903 utility outages.
- In 2021, people of color made up 93.76% of public housing, leaving 5.20% of White and 1.03% other residents making up the rest.
- 94.83% of residents are living on welfare.
- NYCHA calculates rent by 30% of either the household’s adjusted gross income or flat rent.
Average flat rent as FY 2022:
1 bedroom $1,644
2 bedroom $1,872
3 bedroom $2,362
4 bedrooms $2,539
What do residents have to say NYCHA:
Miriam Booth: “Recently. We didn’t have hot water for three days. So, you couldn’t take a bath or shower.”(Originally published by The New York Times)
Ariana Rivera: “I get floods in my bathroom and it’s Niagara Falls for my whole apartment… I gotta sleep with a raincoat.” (Originally published by PIX 11 news)
Angelica Chipp: “Once I moved in it’s like the place started falling apart. You know I have mold in my bathroom, like I’m pregnant and I cannot be inhaling that stuff. And I’ve made multiple efforts to go to NYCHA. I’ve called Borough Management, I’ve called the mayor’s office.” (Originally published by News 12)
Zujeiry Sanchez: “When that pipe busted, I called NYCHA. They closed it up and they put tape around it.” (Originally published by Spectrum News NY 1)
Elaine Walker: “In my day, the staff was the best. They had their job, they did their job, and they were qualified for their job. You’d call, and it would be fixed right away.” (Originally published by The New York Times)
Flora James: “There have been weeks where the heating was off and the apartment was freezing cold. It was to the point you felt like you were walking on ice. When there is heat, the paint on the wall starts peeling. The paint never stays, it’s like cheap paint. The sink separates from the walls, leaving a gap. There are times my stove used to tick. It took months for the workers to come and when they did they gave me a hot plate. One hot plate. More months went by until we finally got a new stove and were able to cook. Crime in the area is just as bad. I had a bullet go through my window one time. Everyday someone is going missing, getting shot, or a fire has started in one of the apartments.”
Yolanda Cortez: “I have lived in New York City since March 1985. Housing rent was affordable so we started paying $208. I loved the apartment because it had three bedrooms. At the time I was pregnant, they did not give heat for quite a long time. We had to take New York City housing to court. We are now paying $1,034, so that is quite a big difference with one salary. After so long in New York City, we have decided to move back to our country. The reason is rent has gone high, everything has gone high — crime, so many things.”
Valerie James: “The workers are good, but they need to do better with the apartment. There is too much heat, I couldn’t even sleep on my bed. When I lay down it is hot. I don’t know if it’s the pole or the heater, but they need to fix that. They need to fix the apartment too. The bathroom is no good. The bathroom is the worst, it is so hot, the plug in the bathroom is not working. When they do the painting and the floors, I don’t know why they do it the same. They need to upgrade their materials. The hallway of the building is the worst. There are too many shootings. They need to fix the area too, there is too much garbage around the area.”
“Tear down the old, build up the new. Down with rotten antiquated rat holes. Down with hovels, down with disease, down with firetraps, let in the sun, let in the sky, a new day is dawning, a new life, a new America.”
—Mayor Fiorello La Guardia (New York City 1936)
References:
All Programs [chart]. (2022, January 1). NYC.gov. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/Resident-Data-Book-Summary-2021.pdf
Amsterdam News. (2013, April 18). A History of the New York City Housing Authority. AmsterdamNews.https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2013/04/18/a-history-of-the-new-york-city-housing-authorit
CBS New York. (2018, March 19). Exclusive CBS2 Investigation [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/WXfSg4-FBec
Ferré-Sadurní, L. (2018, July 9). The Rise and Fall of New York Public Housing: An Oral History. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/25/nyregion/new-york-city-public-housing-history.html
Khurshid, S. (2020, March 17). As NYCHA Teeters, Calls for More Funding in City and State Budgets.Gotham Gazette.https://www.gothamgazette.com/state/9216-calls-more-nycha-funding-in-city-state-budgets-new-york-public-housing
News 12. (2022, March 14). Mother to-be: Borinquen Plaza NYCHA apartment is filled with mold [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/c_02F6T5sEk
New York City Housing Authority. (2016). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Housing_Authority
Pay Rent. (n.d.). New York City Housing Authority. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.nyc.gov/site/nycha/residents/pay-rent.page
PIX11 News. (2021, November 12). Living in NYCHA: three tenants share their experiences [Video].https://youtu.be/s9P10ERQJm4
Platt, S. (2022, February 9). NYCHA Utility Outages Underscore Need for Increased Funding. The Legal Aid Society. https://legalaidnyc.org/news/utility-outages-nycha-residents/
Price, R. (2014, October 1). The Rise and Fall of Public Housing in NYC. Guernica. https://www.guernicamag.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-public-housing-in-nyc/
Robinson, E. (2022, November 8). Bronx resident says NYCHA apartment plagued with ignored issues.Spectrum News NY 1.https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/housing/2022/11/09/bronx-resident-says-nycha-apartment-plagued-with-ignored-issues
Smith, G. B. (2022, April 18). De Blasio Promised $2.2B for Public Housing to Settle a Federal Lawsuit. Tenants Are Still Waiting. The City. https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/4/18/23029327/nycha-repairs-deblasio-elevators-lead-paint