In Harlem, Officials Ask Biden To Fund NYCHA Repairs

HARLEM, NY — The ambitious infrastructure package put together by President Joe Biden should include funding to repair New York City's beleaguered public housing system, leaders in Harlem said Monday.

In a news conference outside West Harlem's Grant Houses, tenants Callie Moore and Maureen Johnson described chronic mice and roach infestations, faulty elevators, spotty hot water and a frequent lack of heat inside their homes.

"There’s a lot of problems in these projects," Johnson said.

Across the New York City Housing Authority, about $40 billion in repairs are needed to renovate the underfunded, decaying buildings. That includes about $350 million needed for the Grant Houses alone, according to City Councilmember Mark Levine, who represents the neighborhood and spoke Monday.

"That is why you see failures in elevators in plumbing, in lighting, in doors," Levine said.

The ambitious, $2 trillion infrastructure package being put together by President Biden's administration, however, includes only $40 billion in funding for public housing nationwide, according to U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, meaning it would come nowhere close to addressing the city's needs.

We have a once-in-a-generation chance to undo decades of neglect of NYCHA by the federal gov't.

Standing w/ @ShaunAbreu, @RitchieTorres & residents of Grant Houses to demand at least $70B in funding for public housing in the #AmericanJobsPlan infrastructure bill. pic.twitter.com/KNzRI8AsDx
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) April 12, 2021

Levine and Torres were joined Monday by Shaun Abreu, a tenants' rights attorney and candidate for the neighborhood's District 7 City Council seat. Both men have endorsed Abreu in the competitive race to succeed Levine.

Beyond brick-and-mortar projects like bridge and road repairs, the federal infrastructure bill is also expected to include billions of dollars in funding for racial equity projects, clean energy and other measures.

Hundreds of thousands of people live in NYCHA buildings, whose deterioration stems from decades of federal neglect as well as local misconduct, experts say.

"The reality is — public housing is infrastructure," Abreu said in a statement. "The ceilings, elevators, and pipes in the buildings is infrastructure."