Supermarket-style food pantry opens
in Upper East Side
BY DEAN MOSES
Holiday cheer and good tidings are
being bestowed upon low-income
and homeless New Yorkers with
the grand opening of the new Urban Outreach
Center of NYC.
On Thursday morning, local elected offi
cials christened the new food and social
services site with a ribbon cutting, featuring
several speakers.
The Urban Outreach Center of NYC, a
nonprofi t located on 1745 First Ave., will
serve as a food pantry while also doubling
as a resource that will aid the unemployed
fi nd work by connecting them with social
service programs and engaging visitors
with mock job interview exercises.
City Council Member Ben Kallos joined
members of the East Side Task Force for
Homeless Outreach in celebrating the
Dec. 10 grand opening. This new location
will help distribute locally grown produce
and other healthy groceries, offering a
community diner that serves restaurant
quality meals, clothing rooms and even a
transitional mailing address, in addition to
the wide array of social service resources.
“Our neighborhood is proud to welcome
anyone in need, whether you are from midtown
or downtown, Manhattan is sticking
together to get through these tough times,”
said Kallos, a founder of the East Side Taskforce
for Homeless Services. “I am proud
to have partnered with our faith-based
organizations and fellow elected offi cials to
be able to open a much-needed community
center like this one.”
The aim of this community support center
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COUNCIL MEMBER BEN KALLOS’ OFFICE
Cutting the ribbon for the new Urban Outreach Center of NYC.
is to aid those in need while also being
cautious not to shame or stigmatize them.
This is achieved by offering individuals a
supermarket-style experience, the same as
if they were shopping at an ordinary outlet.
Since the pandemic, food insecurity
throughout the tri-state area has increased,
causing hundreds of families to line up and
down the city streets awaiting entry into
food pantries. This new form of distribution
hopes to humanizes the experience.
“The Urban Outreach Center is a muchneeded
resource on the East Side,” said
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “As
we are battling a recession and pandemic,
record numbers of New Yorkers are fi nding
themselves homeless and jobless. The
Urban Outreach Center will help mitigate
that by providing essential services – such
as a jobs center and food pantry – to help
New Yorkers rebuild during and after the
COVID-19 crisis.”
Council Member Ben Kallos speaks
during the ceremony.
NYCHA violated lead paint abatement rules
for five years, city investigators ruled
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The city’s public housing
system took yet another
blow on Dec. 10 when a
Department of Investigation report
revealed that the New York
City Housing Authority violated
numerous lead paint abatement
regulations over a five-year
period.
Between at least 2013 and
2018, the report concluded,
NYCHA’s Lead Unit failed to
follow various protocol when it
comes to removing the toxic paint
from apartment buildings across
the city.
The DOI report, based on a
joint investigation by the agency
as well as the federal EPA and
Department of Housing and
Urban Development, concluded
that NYCHA “failed to ensure”
that abatement jobs were properly
overseen by EPA-certifi ed lead
supervisors who are essential
toward complying with safety
regulations.
NYCHA also neglected to ensure
that the EPA received proper
notifi cation of abatement activity,
and failed to create an occupant
protection plan for each job.
The investigation also found
that three of NYCHA’s lead
abatement managers, who failed
to properly oversee lead abatement
work, falsifi ed NYCHA
executives by reporting compliance
with EPA regulations, going
as far as to sign 163 work orders
with the false signatures of an
EPA-certifi ed lead supervisor.
One of the three managers
involved in the scheme was
suspended by NYCHA for 30
days without pay; the other two
managers retired in 2018.
“In this case, NYCHA managers
involved in the lead abatement
process had a total disregard
for the facts, for the law and
integrity,” DOI Commissioner
Margaret Gamett said, “and, most
importantly, for the well-being
of NYCHA residents. NYCHA
needs to ensure that individuals
in positions of authority and
supervision are doing their jobs
and doing them correctly.”
The report, when presented to
NYCHA, included 16 policy and
procedural recommendations
for the authority to impose. According
to the DOI, the authority
implemented seven such recommendations
and six others are
awaiting implementation.
The changes included alterations
to NYCHA’s lead abatement
program, such as consolidating
units to improve communication
and oversight. All lead abatement
work is now assigned an EPAcertifi
ed supervisor who must
be on site for the entire job, from
set-up to cleanup.
“As stated by the Inspector
General, NYCHA cooperated
with this investigation and has
made signifi cant systemic changes
to its lead abatement program,”
said NYCHA Chief Communications
Offi cer Barbara Brancaccio.
“NYCHA continues to work with
the Federal Monitor to establish
the highest standards for its
policies and programs, not only
to fulfi ll the terms of the 2019
HUD Agreement and bring the
Authority into compliance but
also to rebuild a culture of employee
service and accountability;
regain resident, employee, and
public trust; and ensure this never
happens again.”
Lead-based paint was used
in numerous NYCHA buildings
developed until 1960, when New
York City outlawed its use. Inhalation
of lead dust or consumption
of lead paint chips has been
known to cause behavioral and/or
developmental problems among
children.
PHOTO BY REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY
A worker delivers donated food at the Queensbridge Houses, a
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing
complex, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease.
18 December 17, 2020 Schneps Media