From the NY Times:Public housing is falling apart around the country, as federal money has been unable to keep up with the repair needs of buildings more than half a century old.
Over the last 15 years, 150,000 of the nation’s public housing units have been lost, officials said, as agencies have sold or torn down decrepit properties. An additional 5,700 units are pending removal from federal public housing programs.
In New York City, which has a three-year backlog of repair requests, the effects can be seen in places like Aixa Torres’s apartment on the Lower East Side.
The paint chips were the first to be dislodged, drifting like snowflakes from her kitchen ceiling. When water began dripping through the ceiling, forming a hole sometime this spring, she called her landlord, the city’s public housing authority.
A maintenance worker showed up to take a look, and repairs were scheduled.
A plasterer would come to fix the hole in May 2011. A painter would come to cover up the plasterer’s work in May 2012.
The drip has yet to be fixed.
The situation is no better in Newark, which has shuttered 600 units that it cannot afford to fix. The city was given federal approval to raze 1,004 more, but it cannot pay for the demolition.
In Washington, the District of Columbia Housing Authority has floated bonds, among other measures, to put $140 million into fixing up its developments, but it is still $200 million short of what the authority says it needs for repairs.
13 comments:
We should destroy all of our projects like Chicago and St. Louis did. No more handouts.
Do away with all housing projects. Let those savages fend for themselves finally.
Give them title to their apartments. Then they're on their own. Let them be like the pioneers and settle the "land" for themselves.
Seems to be a typical problem – on just about everything they do the pols that run this city do a lousy job – and they are getting worse as they get increasingly arrogant and out of touch - not that the concept, as in this case, public housing – that is bad.
Sure Crappy, privatize public housing. Make them co-ops. Turn out the tenants - maybe they can find housing .... somewhere. Since we are turning back the clock, how about a basement or perhaps some garret?
Maybe you agree with what is happening at Queensbridge and the Astoria houses: the waterfront should go to the 'right' people
Seems like, with the exception of pariahs like Monster rat, or egregious ones like Lopez, this blog is starting to get a bit flat when it comes to going after the party hacks … cause the bite has gone out of it.
No welfare, no public housing, no food stamps, no free public transportation. That's how I did it, that's how my kids did it & that's how you're going to do it. Republican sweep. Death to the Palestinians, long live Israel.
Perhaps if private housing were more affordable, there would be no need for public housing. The rent is too damn high!
Do away w/ all projects & public housing, so gross!!!
We've created a dependency class and related enablers: (1) many of the poor are "locked-in" to their housing subsidies and food stamps (2) there's a class of politicians who pick winners and losers in the subsidies game and draw corrupt operators to fund their campaigns in exchange for favors paid by the taxpayers (3) a bloated public employee payroll to maintain it.
(2) and (3) have a vested interest in keeping the poor dependent and distracting everyone else from changing the status quo.
A bank manager friend of mine handles rent collection for Ravenswood Houses. A tenant gets no eviction grief as long as he/she hands in a $1.00 for a months rent!
The City should sell all these properties off to private ownership and lay off the exorbitant workforce that goes with the whole fiasco.
How many billions would that put back into the
city 's coffers?
Things might be better if the private sector did what it was supposed to and created some jobs instead of destroying the economy with mortgage fraud. And you still wonder why public housing was created? Because the same thing happened in the 1920's that's happening now. All those people who are still living in public housing right now would be out in the streets rioting and burning down your house. What do you think will happen if they get put out "on their own"? The private sector will magically rescue them, offering them jobs picking grapes for $1 an hour?
This is because there are morons running this city. Don't blame the tenants.
"No welfare, no public housing, no food stamps, no free public transportation. That's how I did it, that's how my kids did it & that's how you're going to do it. Republican sweep. Death to the Palestinians, long live Israel."
Huh?
"Huh?"
LOL The rent is too damn high! The Jews are the slave masters! If you are not Jewish you are prohibited from living in this area!
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