Throughout classmates’ interviews of NYCHA residents, one underlying theme came up repeatedly: the inside of houses needed much more repair than is evident from the outside. According to multiple interviews from our classmates, residents believed that their residence halls looked alright from the outside since the brick exterior making up all NYCHA buildings was meant to last. However, due to neglect and lack of funding over the past few years, residents have voiced that the inside of their buildings is unsafe and in desperate need of repair. The main complaint appears to be water damage, as many residents complain about the lack of response to their repair requests for such damage. Because of how slow these water damage repairs have been addressed, many residents find themselves dealing with extensive mold issues which are detrimental to their health.
Many residents stated that they had some sort of cockroach presence within their houses, with many having to change the insecticides that they spray each week as the insects become resistant to it. Crime and drug activity are another complaint. In order to avoid the crime present at many of these houses, residents feel that it is imperative that they arrive and stay at home before sundown, as arriving at home at dusk could jeopardize their safety. Although this could easily be prevented by a doorman, residents that we interviewed felt that they had to take their own safety precautions since there aren’t doormen present at every entrance of the building, although many stated there was a doorman at one of the multiple entrances at their residences. This loophole makes illegal activity inevitable, despite how easily preventable it is. Hand in hand with this comes unsafe stairwells, which house sleeping drug addicts and lead to criminal activity, and make residents fearful every time they have to take the stairs to reach their apartment.
Many residents recognize that NYCHA is a unique housing authority because of how large it is and how many residents it serves. Keep in mind that 1 in 14 New York City residents lives in the 328 developments across New York City of NYCHA housing. With such a large and complex organization, it is clear that NYCHA faces issues that are unique from any other housing authority in the country. Given this, many residents informed us that they would prefer to have an official in charge who has familiarity with the unique issues facing NYCHA, such as a long-time employee, or a former NYCHA resident. With someone who has experienced the problems facing the Housing Authority first hand, NYCHA residents believe that individuals would better address problems and lead to successes at these developments with a passion developed from their own first-hand experience. With this experience, many residents believe that such an individual will dedicate allotted funds to the interior of the building, since as of now, they believe there is an incorrect focus on repair of the exterior of the building, instead of the more essential interior repairs.
Although NYCHA provides eligible applicants with affordable housing, the success and growth of these residents is limited due to all of the limitations that they face in their living situations. Every aspect of their lives, whether it be leaving or returning to their homes, or simply getting ready for the day in the morning, is negatively impacted by NYCHA living conditions. Home is supposed to be a place of rest after a long day of work. A place where you can let your guard down, finish your work, and recharge for the next day. However, the image of the typical NYCHA home seems to be the polar opposite of this. Residents have to be on alert when they enter their housing complexes, aware of any unsafe circumstances that could afflict them as they make the journey to their apartment. Then, inside their houses, they are faced with multiple unsafe living conditions, which require attention and consistent maintenance, and high likeliness of disruptive neighbors and loud sounds outside at night. Hopefully, NYCHA complexes will only continue to improve in the future so residents can enjoy security and live lives where their homes have safety and suitable living conditions.
