In Zohran’s latest performance of empty promises, the administration had announced ‘Rental Ripoff Hearings’, forums in which “New Yorkers across all five boroughs are given a direct platform to share their housing experiences in one-on-one conversations with City officials and help shape housing policy”.
What is only mentioned on the very bottom of the page, the very last FAQ, is that NYCHA residents are not included in this open invitation for tenants to share their grievances.
This forum’s dedication to the city’s private landlords directly contradicts a statement from Zohran himself, “I want these hearings to expose the ugly underbelly of our city” he claims while ignoring the over 500,000 residents that live in the ugliest underbelly, under the slumlord that is the New York City Housing Authority.
The only consideration these residents receive is a sentence at the end, telling them to sit tight and wait for an improved housing plan “in the coming months”. Residents are told to sit tight after – just 1 month ago – 2 people were killed by a fire at Boston Secor Houses. Residents of Mitchel Houses have been without gas since October 1 of last year and the hallways of Castle Hill filled with boiling water after a pipe burst injuring residents and damaging their homes.
The city is hosting these ‘listening sessions’ to give the illusion of doing something against the problems of abusive and predatory private landlords – which are already well documented and known and do not need discussion and inaction. This is further at the expense of drowning out the voices and cries of NYCHA residents, shoving them further down the priority list.
The violations of NYCHA are extremely thoroughly documented across the media, HUD, the office of the public advocate, and more, so the bullshit listening sessions can be skipped over. Immediate action needs to be taken for residents to live in safe and dignified conditions before someone else is killed.
Dare to Struggle 