This morning, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. announced the formation of a Bronx Public Housing Advisory Council, which will discuss and find answers to the issues faced by the residents of the borough’s public housing buildings.
Borough President Diaz explained that the new council has been formed following discussions with tenant leaders from every corner of the borough who have been speaking with the Bronx Borough President’s Office about the need to find solutions to a number of different issues their developments have, such as quality of life, safety, and greater tenant involvement in NYCHA decisions.
“This council wasn’t created to point fingers. We will work together with NYCHA, with the Mayor Office, with the City Council, to be sure that we can find solutions to improve the quality of life of our residents,” said Borough President Diaz. “I look forward to working with these and other tenant leaders, from across the Bronx, to put forward a strong agenda for the improvement of our public housing facilities.”
The advisory council, which will meet once a month, is made up of over 50 tenant association leaders and residents who live in public housing and will represent over 130 Bronx’s NYCHA developments.
Borough President Diaz also talked about his office’s support to the Save Our Underfunded NYCHA Developments (SOUND) Housing Campaign, a coordinated effort to ensure that the New York City Housing Authority gets its fair share of the State and City funding and that funds are properly spent on basic maintenance. A major aim of the campaign is to address NCYCHA’s structural deficit, which is estimated to be $137 million in fiscal 2009-2010, and has contributed to service cuts, inadequate maintenance, and other problems throughout New York City’s public housing.
The borough of The Bronx has 44,457 NYCHA units, with a total of 103,661 residents, a number that represents 25.7% of the Citywide NYCHA population.