Bill in Congress Would Bring Cash to M'Ville Houses

New legislation to help resolve the lack of funding for New York City public housing projects is currently under review in Congress.

The bill's cosponsors, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, D-NY, hope to bring in $100 million in federal aid to 21 New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) properties, including West Harlem's Manhattanville Houses, by January 2008.

The lack of sufficient funding for these properties has led to prolonged repair cycles, cutbacks of management staff, and increased rent for many of the city's neediest tenants.

"For too long, the Federal and State governments have turned their backs on the tenants of these 21 developments," Schumer said in a press release announcing the legislation. "These tenants should not live in fear for their future, which is why the Federal Government should step in, as it has for NYCHA development across the city, and support affordable housing for our most vulnerable citizens."

The amount of federal aid that NYCHA currently receives is intended for the 322 public housing developments. NYCHA operates 21 buildings more than that, leaving over 20,000 apartments unaccounted for. Last year, NYCHA accrued a nearly $88 million deficit trying to fund all of its projects.

The lack of funding is largely the result of a spate of federal public housing cuts over the past two years. Housing authorities nationwide received 11.3 percent less than they were eligible for in 2005, 18 percent less in 2006, and the difference for 2007 is estimated at 22 percent. New York state is projected to lose $240 million this year, $100 million of which will be lost by NYCHA, the largest public housing authority in North America.

If passed, the bill, dubbed the Public Housing Equal Treatment Act of 2007, will amend Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to permanently restore the lost funding. The bill, in addition to restoring funding to the 21 developments currently unaccounted for, will also save money for the remaining 322 developments, as money will no longer have to be siphoned from their upkeep.

"Funding for our city's public housing has slowed to a trickle under the Bush administration," Velázquez said in a statement. "This has left NYCHA underfunded and thousands of our community's neediest residents feeling the consequences."

Manhattanville houses residents who will receive increased funding, provided that this bill passes. Some of these residents doubt how effective the bill would be.

"Our situation really isn't too bad," said Douglas Calderone, a resident of the complex. "The elevator breaks down sometimes, the heating sometimes shuts off, but it all gets fixed eventually. And what do you expect? This is New York City."

"Sometimes I'm skeptical of about these renovations they promise," said Patricia Lewis, another resident who lives on the 16th floor. "They rarely come and when they do it, they screw up. I remember in '96 they repainted the stairwells with some kind of poisonous paint. The fumes would get in our lungs-people were choking and throwing up. They later had to come and peel it off and then start all over."