NYCHA Misreported Repair and Maintenace Work, Comptroller Says
(DNAINFO) Gustavo Solis — Public housing officials under-reported their maintenance backlog by nearly 40 percent and closed work orders without performing repairs, according to an audit released Monday by Comptroller Scott Stringer.
The audit found that NYCHA routinely closed non-emergency work orders if residents are not home when NYCHA visits their apartments.
“The truth is thousands of repairs were completed on paper only,” Stringer said Monday in front of the Grant Houses at 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. “This is the worst kind of magic trick — making problems disappear on paper while leaving NYCHA residents to deal with faulty wiring, falling plaster, and dangerous homes.”
Additionally, NYCHA does not include outstanding violations from the New York City Fire Department, Department of Buildings, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in its tally of backlogged repairs, according to the audit.
NYCHA dismissed the audit before it was even released, saying the Comptroller was simply “recycling old data,” by criticizing the agency for its 55,000 work order backlog. NYCHA said the audit focused on Housing Authority issues that happened under the previous administration, before the appointment of chair and CEO Shola Olatoye.