After visiting Andrew Jackson Houses in Melrose, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said has no problem with declaring a state of emergency for NYCHA after witnessing first hand the deplorable conditions for himself as he toured the projects.
Cuomo saw apartments that were infested with roaches and vermin, peeling paint that could possibly be contaminated with lead and called the conditions “intolerable” and “disgusting”.
But missing from many narratives in the media is the fact that three years ago, the same Governor Cuomo who’s calling for a state of emergency for the country’s largest public housing system housing over 400,000 people, he pulled $100 million in funding that was marked for repairs that were desperately needed.
Curbed made mention of this via a tweet as seen below
Throwback to some past @RitchieTorres comments: “The governor has politicized the use of the $100 million and does nothing to address the needs of tenants.”https://t.co/KTBPNTHHN9
— Wiley Norvell (@WileyNorvell) March 12, 2018
Where has Cuomo been all these years? Has he not been the governor of New York since 2001? New York City Housing Authority’s problems and deplorable conditions predate his tenure in office so as several people have mentioned, is this an issue because it’s an election year?
Some of the city’s most vulnerable residents live in NYCHA and all of the 400,000+ residents shouldn’t be an afterthought or a campaign season political football.
Let’s hope they actually fix things now and not stop after the election year is up
