Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) came to the playground of the New York Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Marcy Houses in Beford-Stuyvesant yesterday vowing that the 400,000 NYCHA residents citywide will finally see action in repairing decrepit conditions.
Cuomo, appearing with Brooklyn electeds including U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D), City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D), State Sen. Martin Dilan (D) and Assembly Member Erik Dilan (D), and a number of NYCHA tenant leaders also took a veiled swipe at Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose administration has a record of deceiving NYCHA residents.
“This is supposed to be the progressive capital of the nation, New York City. Everybody likes to talk about how progressive they are, how liberal they are, well we’re saying walk the walk don’t talk the talk. If you actually care then you step up and you do the right thing by NYCHA after so many years of neglect. That’s what this is all about and that’s what the past few months have been all about,” said Cuomo.
“We’ve been standing up for the NYCHA residents and we’ve started by inviting in all you members of the press, all the cameras and we said to New Yorkers don’t just drive by NYCHA housing, we want you to come in and look inside,” the governor added.
Cuomo noted how the Daily News just the day before wrote a story about the lies that were told where the Mayor said “‘well we’re going to go through all of these repairs, and we’re going to fix all of their repairs.’ So what they did was just cross them off the list like they never existed.”
“You know how you tell a progressive government that cares about people. It does something, it shows up and it makes repairs. And we now have a federal judge appointed to monitor. And as a financial commitment from the city, a financial commitment to the state. And what the monitor is all about, is bringing confidence to the system. Because it’s not just about the money. You need to have management that knows what it’s doing that goes with the money,” said Cuomo.
Cuomo also earned the endorsement of 56 NYCHA tenant leaders across Brooklyn. The tenants specifically praised the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency to expedite repairs, $550 million sweeping investment, delivering design/build authority and new oversight measures to restore accountability and bring immediate relief to NYCHA residents.
Danny Barber, president of the NYCHA Citywide Council of Presidents, introduced Cuomo as a fighter you want on your side. “He’s a proven progressive leader and he would not stand by as the people of NYCHA continued to be abused. He shined a light on this tragedy and fought for us – and he fought for all of NYCHA and their families. That’s the kind of experienced leadership NYCHA needs and that’s why I am proud to endorse him for re-election,” said Barber.
Marcy Houses Tenant Association President said, “Governor Cuomo doesn’t just talk the talk, he delivers results. He has stood by the residents of public housing every step of the way and worked to combat the public health crisis facing NYCHA residents. Governor Cuomo is the leader we need moving forward and I’m proud to endorse him for re-election.”
Other tenant association presidents from Brooklyn endorsing Cuomo include those from NYCHA’s Carey Gardens, Red Hook East, the Brevoort Houses, the Kingsborough Houses, the Langston Hughes Houses, Glenmore Plaza, the Unity Plaza Houses, the Long Island Baptist Houses and the Breukelen Houses.
