Coming on the heels of the shocking revelation that the New York City Housing Authority falsified documents claiming it had completed lead paint inspection, Senator Jeff Klein is once again calling for an independent monitor be installed to oversee the troubled authority.
Just last week, the New York City Department of Investigation reported that not only had the leaders of New York City Housing Authority failed to ensure that tens of thousands of apartments be inspected for lead paint, they compounded the failure by lying to the federal government, claiming the inspections had been completed.
Senator Klein, joined by state and city elected officials, claimed that NYCHA officials had undermined the public trust. A report released by his office supported that claim, which detailed the deplorable conditions tenants of the housing authority live in and the snail’s-pace response time to remedy complaints. Through a survey of NYCHA residents in partnership with Housing Chair Ritchie Torres and Community Voices Heard, the report found more than half of the respondents reported that they either currently have a mold or lead issue in their apartment or have had one in the past.
The survey also found that individuals who reported having mold and/or lead issues in their apartments generally did not receive prompt and timely responses from NYCHA building management.
Senator Klein has long been a champion of improving oversight of NYCHA, having proposed an independent monitor as part of the Independent Democratic Conference’s Changing New York Agenda in January of this year. Despite the New York State Senate having passed this meaningful reform on two separate occasions this year, the State Assembly has failed to take action.
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