FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 19, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
James fi les lawsuit against NYCHA for alleged lack of heat and hot water
BY GABE HERMAN
New York Attorney General Letitia
James has fi led an amicus brief expressing
her support for a lawsuit fi led last
year against the New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA) for allegedly leaving
hundreds of thousands of tenants without
heat and hot water during a recent winter.
Th e tenants’ class action lawsuit was
fi led in 2018 in New York County State
Supreme Court. It claims that NYCHA
failed to meet minimum standards of habitability
for hundreds of thousands of its
residents during the winter of 2017-18,
violating state law. Th e lawsuit seeks damages
and injunctive relief regarding services
for heat and hot water.
NYCHA has claimed it is federally preempted
from the lawsuit, based on a
separate settlement it reached with the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), which addressed
overlapping allegations. Th at settlement
included NYCHA agreeing to make
reforms under supervision by a federal
monitor.
Th is year, the New York County State
Supreme Court ruled in favor of NYCHA
regarding the lawsuit, saying the settlement
with HUD preempted state-law
claims. Th e tenants in the lawsuit have
appealed that decision to the Appellate
Division, First Department, where AG
James fi led the amicus brief.
“As New Yorkers suff ered through the
cold winter, NYCHA sat by as hundreds
of thousands of New Yorkers went without
heat or hot water,” said James aft er the
brief was fi led. “Th e unfortunate truth is
that no one should be shocked that the
New York City Housing Authority sits
atop the city’s worst landlord list with
nearly 175,000 complaints, but we should
all be appalled. Safe, habitable housing
should be a right for every New Yorker,
which is why I will continue to fi ght to
ensure NYCHA and every landlord in
New York lives up to that standard.”
“Th e state’s regulation of housing is a
core exercise of its police power to protect
the ‘health and safety’ of its residents,”
James writes in the amicus brief, “and thus
an essential element of its sovereign right
to govern.” Th e brief continues, “Federal
preemption in an area traditionally occupied
by the states encroaches on the states’
prerogative to regulate matters of local
concern, including ensuring the adequacy
of housing for low-income individuals.”
NYCHA did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
Photos courtesy of Jonathan Sterne/ESD
The Greater Jamaica Development Corporation joined by Empire State Development, Lt. Gov. Kathy
Hochul and local elected offi cials at The Moda Building, located at 89-14 Parsons Blvd., which will be
transformed into a 12,000-square-foot work space and will provide up to 255 jobs in the community. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Community leaders break ground on new Downtown Jamaica facility
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Community leaders on Wednesday
broke ground on the Greater Jamaica
Development Corporation’s Downtown
Jamaica Co-Working and Training facility,
which will provide room for up to 80
local entrepreneurs and independent professionals.
Th e Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation (GJDC) was joined by
Empire State Development, Lt. Gov. Kathy
Hochul, and local elected offi cials at Th e
Moda Building, located at 89-14 Parsons
Blvd., which will be transformed into a
12,000-square-foot work-space and provide
up to 255 jobs in the community.
Th e project is supported by a $1.65
million performance-based grant from
Empire State Development, which was
awarded as part of Jamaica’s selection as a
Downtown Revitalization Initiative winner
in 2016. By providing New Yorkers
with access to aff ordable fl exible workspaces
and business equipment, the project
will support Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
eff orts to further build Jamaica into a
major economic hub.
In the coming months, GJDC will invest
$5.1 million towards the development.
“The Downtown Revitalization
Initiative and previous investments by
the Cuomo Administration are attracting
private investment, development activity
and jobs in Jamaica, which has expanded
the local economy and created opportunities
for local residents and businesses,”
said Hope Knight, president and
CEO of GJDC. “Th anks to the Cuomo
Administration for its continued commitment
to bolstering Southeast Queens.”
Hochul noted that with support from
the Downtown Revitalization Initiative,
Jamaica is poised for transformation with
a signifi cant increase in jobs and economic
growth.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul
(Photo by Jonathan Sterne/ESD)
“Th is co-working space will support
innovative entrepreneurs and invests in
the future of our workforce,” Hochul said.
“Th e forward thinking projects that are
part of the Jamaica DRI will capitalize
on the area’s higher education institutions,
highlight culture and diversity, and
enhance transportation to improve quality
of life for residents, workers, students
and visitors.”
Meanwhile, local elected offi cials such as
Congressman Gregory Meeks and Senator
Leroy Comrie applauded the Greater
Jamaica Development Corporation and
the Cuomo Administration for investing
in the community.
“I am excited to see construction begin
for this much anticipated co-working
space in the heart of Jamaica,” Meeks
said. “Th e economy of southeast Queens
is thriving, due in no short path to massive
investments and the entrepreneurial
workforce that will now have new workspace
to innovate, create and grow their
businesses. I look forward to its completion
and opportunities it will bring to our
community.”
Comrie added, “Th is co-working space
will provide a supportive and collaborative
environment for folks to exchange
ideas as they start and grow this business.”
“Th is support, combined with the ongoing
implementation of our Jamaica NOW
Neighborhood Action Plan, will bring us to
the forefront of the technological age and
will ensure Downtown Jamaica remains
competitive for years to come,” said Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson
NYCHA buildings.
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