34 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 19, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
City must commit to full NYCHA fi x
Th e public advocate’s offi ce has created
a new rite of winter in its publication
of the “Worst Landlords List,” an annual
rundown of property owners across the
city who are notorious for neglecting their
buildings and tenants.
Th ese landlords demand prompt payment
Photo by Todd Maisel
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams revealed a list of the fi ve worst landlords in New York City at a press conference in Foley Square.
STORY: Two Queens math teachers to receive prestigious
award for excellence in achieving high results
SUMMARY: Two Queens teachers were honored for
their excellence in teaching and received high results in
mathematics at an awards celebration at Cooper Union
on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
REACH: 22,065 People Reached (as of 12/16/19)
of monthly rent from their residents
while subjecting them to terrible conditions
— from rodent infestation, to mold,
to broken infrastructure, and more. Even
with the incursion of violations from city
agencies, as the Worst Landlords List outlines,
many of those property owners continue
to ignore them.
But there is one entity which Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams said on
Monday tops every other bad landlord
in the city — the New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA).
For years now, NYCHA has been vilifi
ed for failing to adequately address the
myriad problems on its properties: boiler
breakdowns in the dead of winter, broken
elevators, plumbing problems, mold
growth, just to name a few.
Th e de Blasio Administration has taken
plenty of heat for the situation, which
wound up in federal court. A federal
monitor was appointed to make sure that
NYCHA cleaned up its act. Th e leadership
at NYCHA was also shaken up to ensure a
new, more positive direction.
And yet, as Williams noted Monday,
there are still some 350,000 outstanding
NYCHA work orders for improvements
— which is actually up from 2018.
With the neglect and disrepair so extensive,
one could argue that it was only natural
to expect things at NYCHA to get
worse before they could get better. But its
track record of failure, and years of ignorance
from City Hall, does not leave much
room for enthusiasm.
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Although Williams identified
NYCHA as the city’s “worst landlord,”
the title ought to instead go to City Hall
and the Mayor’s office. The buck stops
with the people at the top, the legislators
and the city’s chief executive, both
of whom are responsible for NYCHA’s
stewardship.
Th e neglect goes back several administrations,
however, so we’re not going to
scapegoat specifi c lawmakers who presently
or previously occupy city government.
But it would be absolutely refreshing if
the de Blasio administration, and whoever
succeeds it, would fully reform and
repair NYCHA with the same vigor and
commitment as they’ve instituted other
recent, important public policy changes.
Th e residents of NYCHA deserve a caring
landlord, and a livable home. Our city
is obligated to provide them both.
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