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11 April 2018—

The City Hall Press Office sent an announcement saying that on Tuesday, 10 April “Mayor de Blasio tours Ocean Bay Bayside apartments, names Stanley Brezenoff Interim Chair of NYCHA.”

How interesting it can be, or why it is important for Mayor Bill de Blasio to tour an Ocean Bay Bayside apartment in Far Rockaway, Queens? So I went.

He visited a fully renovated kitchen in a public housing complex, part of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

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Mayor de Blasio chatted to resident Iris Collado, who has been living there for twelve years, about her life, her children, how safe it was living there 12 years ago, and how safe it is now.

He continued, “Are you happy with your new kitchen, cabinets, counter top, stove, dish washer, etc?”

“Yes, I am,” she answered.

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And the Mayor asked, “ Can I open your refrigerator door?”

Well, I still don’t understand, since it was a planned visit, since Mayor de Blasio was showing the renovated kitchen to press members what did he expect to see! An empty refrigerator?

Well, of course it was full!!!!

After Mayor de Blasio’s visit to NYCHA’s Ocean Bay Bayside Apartment, a press conference took place with an important announcement that NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye, who served for the last four years, is stepping down, and Stanley Brezenoff is going to step in as interim Chair of NYCHA.

It was the official announcement of NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye’s resignation.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, outgoing NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye, center, and interim NYCHA chair Stanley Brezenoff, right, during a press conference.

Mayor de Blasio, “Remember, in the first months of our administration, we came to learn that NYCHA was on the brink of bankruptcy and that this organization was literally teetering on the verge of collapse. Again the notion was, that someone had to fix it, someone had to be brave enough to step forward. Shola and her team did that,” and he continued,” Repairs had to be sped, safety had to be achieved, financial solvency, long term plan for reinvestment, all of that had to be done at once and it was. So I want to say thank you to Shola, because it was not an easy mission and it was certainly a thankless mission, but it was a crucial mission and 400,000 people benefited because of the work you did.”

Last mounts, Olatoye has been at the center of several controversies; first, ‘lead paint’ problem it was, which she certified that lead paint inspections had been done in NYCHA units over a four-year period, even though she knew that they had not.

Second, ‘heat and hot water ‘ problem; four out of five public housing tenants in the city, or 80 percent, or in other words 320.000 of about 400.000 NYCHA residents lost heat or hot water because of boilers problems.

“One of the issues that came up in the last year is this lead paint problem and the specific issue I want to ask both you is, do you have any regrets about the way this was handled? And specifically the decision to falsely certify that the lead paint inspections had been performed, as they were required to be when you knew that that was not true,” a reporter asked.

Mayor de Blasio,” My regret is that people who had been a part of NYCHA for a long time did not share the information they should have.” And continued, “That’s where the original sin is. Those people are gone. That mistake will not happen again.”

“So, to answer your question directly, I think I regret not knowing sooner,” Chair Olatoye continued, “For residents to be uncertain about possible lead hazards in their homes or unable to stay warm on the coldest days of winter, it unnerves me that we have failed here.”

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Outgoing NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye during Q-and-A at the press conference.

One reporter asked, “Talk about the circumstances and the timing of your departure. Was it your decision to leave? Why now? Were you asked to leave?”

“I’d always committed to the Mayor that I would serve the first term and so, for me both completing the work that we’ve been engaged in, “ answered Chair Olatoye,

And, she continued, “This was my choice and I think it was really – it was really important to me to leave when I felt that I had done the work that I had been asked to do.

So, this is an important time for my family, for me personally.”

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