Red Hook Houses receive new kitchen appliances, by Emily Kluver and Noah Phillips

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is in the process of replacing refrigerators and stoves for many of the residents of the Red Hook Houses. The new appliances are being paid for through the state budget as part of $100 million of capital funding for NYCHA, according to the New York State Division of the Budget office.

The upgrades chosen by Assemblyman Felix Ortiz were initiated by the residents themselves, who had been complaining at Tenant Association (TA) meetings about the quality and age of their kitchen utilities. This spring, many of these tenants brought their complaints directly to the office of Ortiz during their annual lobbying trip to Albany, which is organized by TA presidents Lillie Marshall and Frances Brown.

“[Ortiz] came through for us,” says Wally Bazemore, a NYCHA resident and organizer. The trip was “fun and enlightening,” Bazemore continued.

NYCHA is responsible for evaluating which tenants will receive refrigerators, stoves, both, or neither. So far, GE refrigerators have been delivered to many residents located on Clinton Street according to Karen Broughton, Ortiz’s local representative.

“It’s based on need,” says Jeffrey Wice, special council to Ortiz. “I’m hoping that as many residents as possible will qualify, but right now they’re assessing which needs more immediate replacement, the refrigerator or the stove.”

In 2015 The New York Daily News reported that NYCHA had originally planned to put the funding towards repairing leaking roofs in eighteen of their developments, as they outlined in their published repair plan.

Residents of many NYCHA properties have long complained about leaks, which tend to affect those on the top floors most of all. People have reported fear for both their health and safety. Within the developments targeted for roof repairs, creeping toxic mold has become a major health concern. One resident even reported being afraid to touch a light switch because of all of the water coming in to the apartment, according to The New York Daily News.

State agencies under Governor Cuomo rejected NYCHA’s roof repair plans, stating that the funds could not be used for “routine capital funding activities.” Instead, the money went to local assembly democrats for “small-scale projects of less than $2 million each.”

Bronx City Councilman Ritchie Torres criticized this use of funds as “feel-good” and questioned why the money would not be put towards “critical needs.”

Though there is obvious need for updated appliances, whether or not these needs should be addressed before NYCHA is able to stop the roofs of thousands of their residents from “leaking like sieves” is another question.

Roof repairs have already begun with money coming from other sources, according to Karen Broughton, speaking for Ortiz.