NYCHA residents in Kingsbridge hold little hope for repairs -- there might be an app for that

The smell and sight of mold are present in Barbara Lauray’s apartment on the 19th floor of the Fort Independence Houses, part of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA.) A mold-like substance has spread throughout her shower, near the kitchen light switch and by her windows, echoing the conditions of many other apartments at 3340 Bailey Ave.

Limited in their ability to leave feedback, most residents are left to fend for themselves, with some shelling out time and money on minor repairs by addressing it themselves. However, a new app may be in the works, allowing tenants to voice their opinions.

NYCHA is notorious for housing New Yorkers in deplorable conditions and often turning a blind eye to residents’ pleas for assistance. Hundreds of thousands of repair requests go unaddressed each month, with the average tenant waiting more than a year for work to be completed, according to NYCHA data.

Despite a dire need for repairs, Lauray’s windows haven’t been replaced in nearly 30 years. The longer she waits, the worse the damage becomes. In her living room, the windows are already caving in.

“Last April, we had a bad rainstorm that hit us so hard it split my blinds in half,” Lauray said, resident association president at Fort Independence Houses. “It hit the bricks of the building hard, too. Water seeps through the top of my windows, underneath them and on the bottom. When it floods, it goes to the apartment under us.”

Like many NYCHA buildings, Fort Independence Houses have fallen victim to aging infrastructure, only exacerbated by years of failure to complete timely repairs

In November 2024, the New York City Comptroller’s office released a bombshell NYCHA audit, exposing a system rife with neglect and corruption. It spotlighted shocking instances of inadequate oversight measures that thrived on silenced tenants, notably when NYCHA utilized third-party contractors for repairs.

“It made me mad and it made residents mad,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told The Press. “The audit looked especially at problems like mold in your apartment or your stove is broken or your bathroom is leaking.”

These problems are all too common in NYCHA housing, with open work orders for mold remediation and leak repair standing at more than 71,000 in 2023 – nearly twice the number reported by NYCHA the year prior. 

On the thirteenth floor of Fort Independence Houses, Danny Moran and his 71-year-old mother’s handicap accessible apartment is no better than Lauray’s. Some repairs have gone unaddressed for so long that Moran has resorted to makeshift solutions. His two bathrooms, however, have been the most significant source of frustration.

“When they fixed the showerhead, they only gave a regular one but this is a handicap apartment, and my mom is wheelchaired,” Moran said. “ We had to go on our own and buy a handheld piece. I finagled it together so she can shower comfortably when she sits there. She could actually clean herself.”

Still, numerous issues are piling up that he’s unable to address on his own, including the lack of ventilation. Dark fungal spots are visible, scattered throughout his shower and walls.

“I needed NYCHA to replace a silicone piece on the floor that helps get her wheelchair into the shower,” Moran said. “All they did was seal it, which is crazy because that’s an easy fix. All the water still goes down there and everything just smells. It smells horrible. If I lift it, the smell hits you in the face.”

Every five years, NYCHA conducts a physical needs assessment report. In 2023, its findings indicated that in-apartment bathroom renovations were Fort Independence Houses’ second-most pressing repair need. A lack of heating sits at the top of the list.

On the day the Press visited the Fort Independence Houses in February, Moran and Lauray had their ovens on and open to provide warmth in their heatless apartments—a routine they said had become a daily necessity.

After the visit, Lauray confronted the building's maintenance team, informing them of our ongoing investigation. Within a week of raising the issue, her outdated and defunct radiator was replaced – the first time in the 51 years she’s lived there according to Lauray. While the damaged windows still allow cold drafts to seep in, the newfound warmth is a welcome relief compared to the harsh conditions she had endured until now.

 Moran’s stove, much smaller than its designated space, was replaced over a year ago with a used emergency stove as a temporary solution. It remains in place and Moran has little hope for any change soon. 

“I think if there’s any way to change something, then we should have a designated system to give feedback on,” Moran said. “Like a Yelp-type situation, where you could put down your grievances. Not just the quality of work, but even if the worker was nice or not.”

Over the course of the two-year investigation, Lander sought to provide NYCHA tenants with a platform to be heard and he turned to rating apps for inspiration.

“Hiring more NYCHA staff to check the work is being done would be inefficient,” he said. “We developed a proposal and even mocked up an app, like Yelp, for NYCHA repairs.”

Residents could rate contractor performance using a real-time grading tool, either through the existing NYCHA app or a completely new one, resulting in a publicly available vendor scorecard.

For residents like 27-year-old Jordan, who chose not to share her last name, a chance to voice frustrations is a long-awaited opportunity. She’s called the building her home for the past 15 years, where her aunt also resides, as did her parents until their deaths.

Jordan is now raising a third generation at Fort Independence Houses, with her one-and-a-half-month-old baby being the latest addition to the family.

“I just want NYCHA to care about us, to want to [make repairs],” she said. “We get it, y’all probably don’t live here, but we do, and something’s got to give. It’s not safe for the kids.”