Council: NYCHA should publicize mold efforts

The New York City Housing Authority would have to inform residents in writing of a call center dedicated to mold complaints under a newbill to be introduced Thursday.

The bill, which is being sponsored by Bronx City Council member Ritchie Torres and Brooklyn council member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, would also compel NYCHA to inform residents about the independent, court-appointed ombudsman overseeing the authority’s mold reduction program.

“NYCHA has historically been ineffective in reducing mold and has historically taken mold lightly,” Torres said Tuesday. “The ombudsperson is not merely a monitor. It can compel NYCHA to make repairs. But it’s only effective to the extent we make use of it.”

The creation of the call center and ombudsman post stem from a lawsuit between NYCHA and a tenant, Maribel Baez, which was settled in 2013.

As part of the settlement, Manhattan Federal Court Judge William Pauley ordered NYCHA to come up with a plan to deal with toxic mold in 2018. That plan included establishing a call center and the ombudsman job, which went to attorney Cesar de Castro.

The organization that backed Baez in her lawsuit, Metro IAF, lauded the call center last week after de Castro and a team of experts reported early signs of its success.

“It’s a good idea,” Metro IAF organizer Michael Stanley said of the bill. “The call center is doing well, and it’s very important that everyone in the city know about it.”

Residents in 29 NYCHA developments are now able to lodge complaints through it. The rest of NYCHA is expected to be connected with it by July, said de Castro.