In Queens, dozens of residents at the Astoria Houses were forced to cook on hot plates for months after the cooking gas was turned off in September to fix a leak. The problem was not the fixed until December, tenants said.
These repairs are particularly important during the Covid-19 crisis as New Yorkers remain stuck indoors, said Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a Democrat, who called on the housing authority to expedite repairs at the Astoria Houses and Campos Plaza II, which are both in her district.
Ms. Maloney recently visited Astoria Houses with a community organization, Queens Together, which gave out crockpots to residents. Another community group, Queens Liberation Project, raised more than $8,000 in donations through a social media campaign to help prepare and deliver hot meals to tenants.
At the Bailey Houses, tenants said that rainwater pools on the roof and trickles down into their apartments. Water marks stain the walls. Paint bubbles up on damp ceilings. Mold invades bathrooms and kitchens.
After hearing the complaints, State Assemblyman Victor M. Pichardo, a Democrat whose district includes the development, visited the roof with tenants to see for himself. He then secured $3 million in state capital funding to fix the roof, presenting a ceremonial check to tenants in 2018.
But nearly two years later, the roof is still leaking.
Housing authority officials said they could not start the roof repairs at the Bailey Houses until they actually received the $3 million from the state Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, which just released the money in November.
But the dormitory authority said the housing authority could have started the roof repairs earlier and received reimbursements afterward.read more
Trapped at Home in the Pandemic With Mold and a Leaky Roof
