What to Know
- HUD Secretary Ben Carson will meet with Mayor de Blasio in New York City Tuesday to discuss the future of NYCHA
- De Blasio promises to speed up $24 billion worth of urgent repairs at the nation's biggest public housing system
- Carson says New York must come up with what he called an 'acceptable' plan or the feds will take over NYCHA
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson met with Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday to talk about about the future of public housing in New York City.
In his first visit to a NYCHA building, Carson toured the Queensbridge Houses, the nation's largest public housing development, then met with the mayor. The city has until Jan. 31 to show an acceptable plan to fix issues, or else the federal government threatens to take over management.
De Blasio does not want the federal government to take over NYCHA, and he said the meeting with Carson was a big step to show the city is taking the right measures to avoid that.
"There's a real acknowledgement from Secretary Carson that we made some big steps last week announcing our plans around new investments in NYCHA," he said.
Last week, de Blasio promised to speed up $24 billion worth of urgent repairs “to improve the quality of life for the 400,000 New Yorkers who call NYCHA home." He also laid out a plan for maintenance work seven days a week.
For years, problems for NYCHA residents have been piling on, including heat and water issues, rat infestation and lead paint in older buildings.
"My mom's a resident and she's yet to get a new stove and refrigerator or windows fixed, so that would be great," said Natasha Soltero, one of the thousands of people who call NYCHA home.
