NYCHA's Throggs Neck Houses residents have option to vote on being privately operated
Tenants at NYCHA's Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue Houses tell News 12 there is a reputation for not fixing things that need repairs in their building.
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Residents are deciding if operations should stay in the hands of NYCHA, join the Public Housing Preservation Trust unlocking federal funding or be operated by a private third party.
Voting ends April 16, but one person has already decided.
"We want our community to stay the way it is," said Lehra Brooks, Throggs Neck Tenant Association president.
Tenants at NYCHA's Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue Houses tell News 12 there is a reputation for not fixing things that need repairs in their building.
"There's a lot of problems in the building and stuff like that. It will get fixed privately," said Vernice, a Throggs Neck tenant.
But she says being privately operated will come with new problems.
"A lot of people are struggling to pay the rent and stuff. At least NYCHA gives us a chance to, you know, to catch up on rent. We go private. Now, if you don't pay it, you're going out," said Vernice.
The tenant association president says she has lived in the building for decades, and going private will price her out.
"I don't have another place to live. OK, I'm past the age of going to buy a home now or get a condo," said Brooks
She says Throggs Neck Houses is a close-knit community, and private operation would change things completely.
"This kind of seems like it wants to separate us, and it's not what we want," said Brooks.
There will be a tenant meeting Thursday for residents to get more information on what this three-way vote could mean for the future of their home.
