NYCHA sees crime drop, but Marble Hill Houses residents cite security concerns

The New York Police Department announced record-low levels of crime in city public housing developments this year, but for mothers raising young children at Marble Hill Houses, the statistics have not erased concerns about what happens outside their doors.

During the first seven months of 2026, major crime in New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA, developments fell just over 6 percent, from 3,387 incidents during the same period last year to 3,174. Murders dropped 45 percent, shooting incidents declined by a third and robberies fell by roughly 19 percent, according to the NYPD. The decline, however, has been even greater at Marble Hill Houses, a NYCHA complex located on Broadway between West 225th and 230th Streets.

Overall major crime there fell 14.3 percent this year, the NYPD said, from 28 incidents during the same period last year to 24 this year. The development has recorded no murders, shootings or burglaries so far this year, while robbery incidents dropped from eight to three and grand larcenies fell from 10 to two compared to last year.

Yet those numbers tell only part of the story for residents like Ashley Gallardo, a 31-year-old single mother who has lived at Marble Hill Houses for about three years.

“Being that it’s just me and my son, it’s different because I have to protect him,” Gallardo said. “I got to protect myself and him.”

According to the NYPD, not every crime declined. Felony assaults at Marble Hill Houses more than doubled, from seven last year to 15 this year, while grand larceny auto increased from one to four incidents.

Gallardo said she generally feels safe during the day, but one of her biggest concerns is what she described as a lack of cameras in some areas, particularly stairwells. She also worries about walking beneath the scaffolding surrounding portions of the development after dark.

NYCHA told The Press two CCTV capital projects at Marble Hill Houses were completed in 2022 and 2023. A facade repair project is also underway, and the scaffolding surrounding buildings can be removed once that work is complete in June 2028.

Concerns are heightened by entrance doors that are frequently left propped open or have broken locks, Gallardo said, allowing people who do not live in the building to enter.

Gallardo said the entrance door and intercom in her building have repeatedly malfunctioned. When the door is secured, she said, her key sometimes fails to open it. She recalled returning from the hospital with her son on one occasion, only to discover that her key would not open the recently repaired entrance door.

“I was stuck down here, and then I called 911 to see if they could come,” Gallardo said. “They told me to call a locksmith, but it was like four in the morning.”

For Otera Hammons, 30, another single mother at Marble Hill Houses, darkness is also one of the most immediate concerns.

Hammons, who has a 3-year-old son, said she generally feels comfortable during the day but worries more after dark when outdoor lights are not working — a common occurrence.

Hammons said the problem is particularly noticeable during the summer, when more people are outside later in the evening. She also described entrance doors being forced or propped open, another condition she said undermines her sense of security.

The NYPD said officers from the 50th precinct routinely conduct directed patrols at Marble Hill Houses, including foot posts and officers assigned to patrol the development in sector cars.

NYCHA acknowledged that keeping building security systems working can be difficult. The authority said ongoing funding constraints and repeated vandalism are the primary challenges to keeping doors, locks and intercoms fully functional.

“Resident safety is paramount for NYCHA, and the authority is committed to fostering a sense of security for residents in their homes and buildings,” an agency spokesperson told The Riverdale Press. “We have a longstanding partnership with the NYPD and will continue to work collaboratively on matters related to public safety.”

NYCHA encouraged residents experiencing maintenance problems to contact its Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 or submit work orders through the MyNYCHA application.

In 2023, Marble Hill was among 23 NYCHA developments to receive upgrades as part of a $24.1 million citywide security investment, the authority said. The upgrades included new closed-circuit television cameras, layered access-control installations, entrance renovations and lighting repairs. Additional improvements at building entrances, NYCHA said, included enhanced exterior lighting, intercom systems, stainless-steel or steel-reinforced aluminum doors and storefronts, and layered access-control systems.

Yet three years after that investment, Bronx Community Board 8 identified the same unresolved gaps at Marble Hill in its Fiscal Year 2027 Statement of Needs, writing that NYCHA required sufficient personnel to adequately monitor its cameras.

“There are security concerns as main doors to buildings do not have proper entry security such as working locks and buzzers,” the board wrote, calling for increased city funding for outdoor cameras and new entry-door locks at the complex.

According to NYCHA’s online capital projects and needs tracker, Marble Hill has an estimated $8.3 million in capital needs related to safety and security over the next five years — a figure that rises to $14 million over 20 years, with no clear timeline for when the work will be funded or completed.