Over the last four years, Tracey Towers underwent a $40 million renovation by its building management firm following an incremental 62.5 percent rent hike imposed on its residents. It was considered the largest investment for a Mitchell-Lama residence such as Tracey Towers, home to some 3,000 residents.

Upgrades went towards electrical circuit boxes, kitchens, intercoms, bathrooms, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. But complaints still persist, which compelled 80th Assembly district committeeman Kenneth Agosto to directly ask New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer to conduct a detailed financial review of the tower through a forensic audit. Stringer had scheduled a town hall meeting in the Bronx when the question was raised.

The audit request represents mounting dissatisfaction toward the new upgrades and the towers’ management, RY Management.

“People just want to make sure that the money that I’m paying [them] is being spent on the things that [they] told me [they’re] spending on and [they’re] getting the work down,” said Jean Hill, president of the Tracey Towers Tenants Association. “Nothing is ever perfect, which I understand. Tracey [Towers] is always a work in progress, anyway.”

While Hill admitted some amenities have been pleasant, her concern is directed at the buildings’ mechanical guts, primarily pointing to a plumbing system she considers spotty.

RY Management ordered crews to replace worn out boilers, installing a complex boiler system for domestic hot water and new heater exchange tanks for hot water.

But Hill, who has lived in the building since the 1970s, questioned the boiler equipment’s reliability in delivering hot water.

“[Y]ou don’t know if the water is going to be hot or cold. Sometimes the water is lukewarm, you get up and take a shower,” said Hill. “You might be in there for about two minutes and the water will turn cold on you.”

“Or vice-versa,” noted Delores Edwards, a retired employee with a computer software company and now the association’s corresponding secretary. “It could be steaming hot.”

Still, water issues continue at Tracey Towers, according to Hill, who highlighted the buildings’ propensity for leaky apartments. “You could come out and it’ll be a river running through your apartment,” said Hill, adding the damage can be problematic.

“The construction was supposed to stop the leaks,” said Evelyn McDonald, the group’s second corresponding secretary.  

For their part, RY Management welcomed an audit, standing by its “commitment to transparency,” and allowing “the tenants and tenants’ association full access to all financial statements concerning Tracey Towers.”

RY Management also defended its boiler system, declaring the “equipment is the most sophisticated on the market.”

“During the coldest days in the past two winters, the equipment has proven itself to be reliable,” read a statement by RY Management provided to the Norwood News.

Forensic audits are usually considered more intensive than regular audits, requiring examiners to investigate any alleged financial misappropriation. In the case of RY Management, the review would come from monies that were part of a 62.5 percent rent increase that was to be used for the $40 million renovation project.

RY Management has kept the building under the program, a voluntary decision since residences have the option of leaving the program 20 years after entering it.

Tracey Towers opened in 1974. The largest buildings in the Bronx, with its brown towers looming over the rest of the borough, the buildings once boasted a doorperson, shoeshine worker, and laundry room staff, now defunct amenities. Its 535-space garage in still intact.

“The only thing I thought was great was security,” said McDonald. “But afterwards, things started to go down.”

Apartments are rented or sold through a current five-year waiting list comprised of 5,000 names. The property is deemed a Mitchell-Lama, a program that started in 1955 by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) specifically for middle-income earners who could not afford market rate. Residents must meet income eligibility standards. HPD, which offers tax exceptions and cheaper mortgages to Mitchell-Lama residents, routinely reviews income paperwork from tenants yearly to determine whether they still fall within acceptable income guidelines.

A separate, unrelated audit of Tracey Towers was conducted by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, which found high-income tenants still living there despite a rule mandating they leave if their income goes past the maximum allowable limit.

Eric Sumberg, spokesman for Comptroller Stringer, was unclear whether the office would consider an audit, but noted it is “in constant contact with the tenants and management at Tracey Towers about all issues affecting residents, including building services, maintenance and the rental increase.”

“The Comptroller’s office will continue to work with all parties to ensure high quality of life, transparency and the preservation of this important affordable housing stock,” said Sumberg.

For now, Hill is crossing her fingers hoping an audit will shed light on what was spent.

“People need to know, ‘was my money spent correctly?’” said Hill. “And I don’t want no shortcuts. Don’t give me the two cents version of the product and tell me I spent $20 for it.”