NYCHA in Crisis: Bronx Residents Forced to Fetch Water From Hydrant

This is a scene you would not expect to see in the City of New York, let alone America.

Hundreds of residents were forced to fetch water from a fire hydrant this past Sunday as water to eight buildings was shut off without warning.

But according to the Legal Aid Society, about 4,000 residents in total were impacted by the neglect.

PIX11 News reported, “I turned on the sink in my 93-year-old grandmother’s house, and there was no water,” resident Clarissa Alayeto said. “So I started rolling on my cellphone. People need to see this is how we are living in NYCHA.”

Yesterday at a press conference with concerned tenants, activists and local elected officals, former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito who’s a candidate running to the city’s first Latina public advocate issued strong words on this and all the issues that have been plaguing NYCHA.

 

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More than 400,000 New Yorkers live in public housing. When will this city make them a priority?

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“Is it because it’s a low income community? Is it because Black and Brown people are living here? Is it because it’s in The Bronx?” asked Mark-Viverito at the press conference.

And indeed one must ask these questions even if we already know the answer. We know that The Bronx is short-changed constantly. We know that historically our government simply does not care when it comes to low-income communities of color living in such conditions.

In fact, it’s usually through deep systemic racist policies that our communities face such deplorable conditions.

Some buildings at Patterson Houses have been using portable boilers for heat and hot water for some time now.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr said something we agree with. “If the city and state could negotiate a deal for Amazon … (they) can find the money for heat and hot water,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr according to amNY.

There’s money for a company that doesn’t need run by the richest man in history, Jeff Bezos but they can’t work on our crumbling infrastructure? They can’t adequately house the poor?

Our City and State needs to get off their asses and do something already. People shouldn’t have to suffer and be treated worse than animals.

 

Ed García Conde

Ed García Conde is a life-long Bronxite who spends his time documenting the people, places, and things that make the borough a special place in the hopes of dispelling the negative stereotypes associated with The Bronx. His writings are often cited by mainstream media and is often consulted for his expertise on the borough's rich history.