The recent decree by federal Judge Pauley is extremely disheartening to me and the residents of the 29 NYCHA developments I represent. Judge Pauley's decision highlights the poor living conditions over 400,000 New Yorkers have been subjected to which includes lead, vermin, and dilapidated infrastructures.

As we move into the winter months, the city, state and federal government must do more to protect the basic rights of NYCHA tenants as we have already started to see heat outages in developments from Long Island City to the Bronx. I call on the Mayor and his administration to produce a plan that truly addresses these inhumane living conditions with real measures in place to effectively get the work done. Too many promises have been made without action and while I applaud the Mayor for allocating over $200 million for capital repairs, the people of New York City need to see those repairs happen now.

In the New York State Legislature, we have allocated $550 Million in-state resources, just in the past two years for crucial capital repairs in NYCHA developments. We have also passed legislation, “Design-Build” to address the issue of expediency in NYCHA projects. It should not take three years to replace a boiler and our constituents will not allow it.

This past year has exposed some of the most egregious conditions and mismanagement at the largest public housing agency in the country. It is time for NYCHA to have some real oversight. We have waited on a Federal monitor for five months too long and our residents cannot afford to play politics. One needs to be nominated and instated.