This week we asked readers living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments in the Bronx about the recent decision for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to oversee NYCHA, and the city’s $2.2 billion commitment for NYCHA repairs over the next decade.

I’m all for that because right now we don’t even have heat in the building, no heat at all. We have running hot water, but no heat. We’ve had no heat since yesterday. It comes on and off. They keep saying they’re repairing it. The elevator keeps breaking down. Sometimes we have to go up and down from the 10th floor. We put in for repairs and a guy took pictures of our apartment, and we don’t hear from them for another year or two and it seems like every day there’s something new that’s wrong. It’s crazy. They need to get their act together. Some of these NYCHA executives are not doing anything so they need to get to the bottom of this.
Gabriel Alicea
Fort Independence Houses

I don’t think the budget really makes a difference, I think their policy is what actually needs to change and some of the actual staff needs to be rearranged. I think we’ve always had the money, but the corruption and poor policymaking is what keeps that money allocated in other places (i.e, the recent scandals at NYCHA, and the sex parties with money being funneled through the buildings). We have to clear that up fi rst or it’s not going to make a difference what contracts we get until we clear that up. Repair times are astronomical, it’s not consistent. It could take a week or two or it could take a year to two years; just depends on how they prioritize it. No one knows.
Joey Marcano
Fort Independence Houses

It’s about time. Yes, it will help, we have no heat right now. I don’t know how cold it is right now, but my house the heat is on. But it’s extremely low and you can’t feel it. Plus, we have no hot water and no sign on the door saying we have no hot water. All winter, nothing’s changed. I just got my fl oors fi xed from June of last year. My husband just got assaulted outside of these projects by some [tenants]. I’m about to get a transfer out of here now and they raised my rent to $1,138 and I’m on public assistance that pays $400 and they’re going to raise my rent like that, trying to evict me. Yes, they need to change the management here.
Sade Douglas
Pelham Parkway Houses

I don’t know if it will change anything, but maybe. Hopefully. I’m a person that gets up at 4 in the morning. No one wants to get up at 4 in the morning to go to work when there’s no hot water or any heat. It’s been out all weekend, there’s barely any heat. It’s been on and off all winter. It’s a constant battle with them all year round. The rodents, the roaches, always taking over and the lack of repairs; the walls are crumbling. When the workers come, they don’t care; they do half-assed jobs or they do Band-Aid work. They need better workers who take the initiative and do their jobs well.
Annette Bonilla
Gun Hill Houses

My thoughts are that I don’t think it will improve much because of all the speculation that’s been going on now with all the funding they’ve been getting, and they haven’t done anything for the residents. Our apartments are still the same. They haven’t repaired the old pipes; the refrigerators and ovens haven’t been replaced after 15 or 20 years. They’re moldy. It’s just a hot mess over here. Yes, we need a whole new management team and we need to fi x NYCHA. I’ve lived here for more than 20 years and I still have the same refrigerator, oven, and cabinets and now they’re moldy and roaches are coming out of it. And the rent just keeps going up!
Guillermo Otro
The Justice Soñia Sotomayor Houses

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.