Brooklyn Boro

Stringer, Adams call Trump’s planned cuts to NYCHA ‘disgusting’

Will deepen homeless crisis in NYC, pols say

March 7, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle
NYC officials expressed dismay at news that the federal government plans to reduce New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) funds by $35 million, and possibly more. Shown: The Farragut Houses in Downtown Brooklyn, one of 328 public housing developments across the five boroughs. Photo data © Google Maps
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NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams expressed disgust on Monday at reports that the Department of Housing and Urban Development, under President Trump, plans to reduce New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) funds by $35 million, and possibly more.

In November, Stringer released a report outlining the devastating impacts of threatened federal aid cuts. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal confirmed the cuts, citing conversations between NYCHA and HUD officials.

The White House, under President Donald Trump, is “actively targeting our most vulnerable citizens,” Stringer said in a furious release on Tuesday.

“And so it begins. We all have long known that leadership in Washington seeks to shred the social safety net by slashing funding for those who need it most,” Stringer said. “Last year, we put out a report laying out those potential federal cuts to our city. Now, it’s happening — and it’s starting with NYCHA.”

Stringer pointed out that NYCHA houses five percent of the city, including tens of thousands of children. NYCHA “mitigates our affordability challenges, and if future cuts happen, it could exacerbate an already record homeless crisis,” he said.

Stringer said the city “must take steps to save now” for what comes ahead.

BP Adams said he was “disgusted and dismayed” at the reports.

“President Trump claims to be a champion for inner city America, but actions speak louder than tweets. Endangering the fiscal health of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a clear and present danger to the public safety and general welfare of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers,” Adams said in a statement.

“Congress has shortchanged NYCHA for decades — under Democratic and Republican leadership alike — but this attack may be the most serious threat that public housing residents have faced,” Adams added. “These cuts threaten to deepen our homelessness crisis, and there’s no telling how additional measures could further endanger our city.”

NYCHA is the nation’s largest housing authority, home to more than half-a-million people. NYCHA residents wrote a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson after his confirmation begging him to tour what they called deplorable conditions at their housing complexes before making cuts.

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