NYC NOW - September 15, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: September 15, 2023

“Dreamers” in New York and across the country face uncertainty as a federal judge rules DACA illegal. Meanwhile, Mayor Adams faces criticism for delays in assisting migrants with asylum applications, potentially affecting their legal status and work permits. Finally, WNYC’s Radio Rookies program equips young New Yorkers with microphones, allowing them to share stories about their lives and communities, such as 17-year-old Fanta Kaba’s investigation into a plan to privatize public housing management in the South Bronx.

Good evening and welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. I'm Sean Carlson. Dreamers in New York City and beyond are bracing for what's next. Dreamers are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, which prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. A federal judge this week once again ruled DACA is illegal. Current recipients can renew their status for now, but no new applications are permitted. Three-year-old attorney and nurse, Hina Navid on Staten Island is a DACA recipient in limbo.

I have to really sort of stay on top of it. I have to consistently plan what if today is the day, what if tomorrow is the day, that our renewals are halted. The issue is ultimately expected to reach the Supreme Court. Immigrant advocates are renewing their calls for Congress to pass legislation allowing DACA to continue. Mayor Eric Adams is facing criticism for not acting quickly enough to help migrants apply for asylum in New York City.

The NYC's Elizabeth Kim reports. A delay in filing an asylum application could cost a migrant a chance to stay in the country legally. It also lengthens the wait time for getting a work permit, which the White House says those admitted under special programs are already eligible for. Asked about the criticisms, Adams angrily pushed back. Now we're looking at the individuals who are trying to fix the crisis and say, you're not doing a good enough job.

The mayor then strode away from the podium as his staffers queued up his self-selected theme song, Empire State of Mind. City officials say they're making a, quote, expedited sprint to identify asylum seekers who are already eligible to work in the U.S. Stick around. There's more after the break. W&YC's Radio Rookies program equips young people with microphones to report on their own lives and communities, and this week we're sharing some of those stories. Today, we hear from 17-year-old Fanta Kamba, who's lived in public housing in the South Bronx for eight years.

She recently found out about a controversial plan that puts public housing under private management. Fanto wanted to better understand what that might mean for her and her neighbors. I have a big family. So I rarely get any privacy. When things get too loud, when my siblings annoy me, I just go to my room and shut the door. All right, so this is my room.

On the wall, there's a bunch of posters. One of them says, don't stop trying, and life is fantastic. I love my room. It's a poster of Jimmy Hendrix. It's my favorite place. I do have to share it with my annoying little sister, but it's way better than when I shared one room with all five of my siblings. Or when we live with my grandparents,

and aunts and uncles. Growing up, we moved around a lot, Harlem, Queens, the Bronx, even North Carolina for a while. My dad drove taxis, and my mom was a home attendant. But their jobs didn't pay enough. When I was eight, we moved into a shelter.

I had blank white walls, and we didn't put anything up because we knew we were just going to move again. But the day we moved into NYCHA, my siblings and I were so hype, We picked out paint colors at Home Depot, and when my parents started buying furniture, that's what we knew. We were here to stay.

Nighter gave my family stability. We know our rent won't go up. And it's the only place I've ever considered home. I know thousands of New Yorkers can relate. But public housing and our city is changing. The New York City Housing Authority is putting for-profit real estate companies in charge of tens of thousands of apartments. The plan is called PACT, permanent affordability commitment together.

It's also known as Rad. And NYCHA residents across the city have protested against it. What private developer do you know that gives a damn about low-income people? They don't. They're worried that they'll be evicted or displaced and lose some of their rights as tenants. This is all happening because public housing in New York City is kind of following. apart. It would take billions of dollars to repair. Nitra can't afford that. So they hand buildings over to private real estate groups. Those companies pay for all the renovations and along with private

building managers, they do everything, from collecting rent to cleaning the hallways to handling leaks. This is a big deal. I wanted to know what does it really mean for families like mine? What I learned is there are no easy answers. We're really grateful that you joined us tonight. If you can, please drop. Ramona Ferraria is an advocate for public housing. She runs weekly Zoom meetings from her apartment in Mitchell Houses. A few blocks away from me.

She starts by checking in with everyone on the call. And Arlene, why do you fight for public housing? Because I need a roof over my head and I have no other family to go to or I need a roof over my head. Ramona founded Save Section 9, a group that wants the government to prioritize public housing, which is also known as Section 9. But I'm tuning in to find out what's going on with these buildings. She wants to make sure residents understand what's going on. I've read a lot of articles and talked to journalists, organizers, and experts.

And this so-called privatization program is still kind of confusing to me. People refer to this program as privatization because it allows private landlords to come in and manage public housing. The private companies benefit because they get to keep our rent money. And they get money from the federal government. Residents benefit because we'll finally get renovations. But Ramona says this whole process puts our rights at risk. As Section 9 residents, we have really strong tenant protections. You have eviction protection.

You have a right to mediation. You have a right to have legal resources. But this program converts our apartments out of Section 9, which is traditional public housing, and they become Section 8 apartments. You've probably heard of Section 8. It uses federal dollars to help low-income people pay rent to private landlords and property managers. Most of our tenant protections are supposed to stay the same, but people don't trust these new landlords to follow the rules.

And I can see why. A report from a nonprofit called Human Rights Watch says there's not enough oversight of these private companies. And this year, the city controller announced an investigation into eviction rates in these converted buildings. Even though people are scared about the changes this program would bring, it might actually be the most promising way to give repairs. Because federal funding for public housing has declined for decades. Which is why NYCHA has been developing a series of programs. to bring comprehensive renovations. That's Jonathan Gavaya, the executive VP for real estate development at Naita.

The agency launched the PAC program seven years ago and has already converted 18,000 apartments. They're working on almost 20,000 more. But some residents aren't too happy with their new property managers. When Sanji Lopez heard about the renovation plans at Patanza's houses in the Bronx, she thought it would solve all of the leaks, mold, and pest issues in her family's apartment. She was so excited. She even appeared in a promotional video

when I made. I found it on YouTube. I trust that Pact has the resident's best interest in mind. But this enthusiasm didn't last. The pain was the first thing. The pain started chipping in a matter of days. Also, it was like incomplete in the bathroom. You know, like we had to complain about missing ceilence

around the bathtub. You know, mold also, again, accruing even more than it did with Nijah. So what kind of oversight is there when it comes to these companies? Jonathan Gavaya from Nica told me management companies are required to submit monthly reports, and everything is carefully trapped. So if somebody puts in a ticket with a heat outage, for example, are they responding to that quickly enough? But how are they holding these companies accountable?

We do in our contracts make very clear that we have the ability to replace a PAC partner if we feel like performance is not where it needs to be. Some residents like Taisha Brown are happy with what PAC does done for their buildings. In cooling maintenance and fixing and repairs, they are very rapid. She lives in Ocean Bay houses and Far Rockaway. My apartment is fine. I really don't have no complaints. I do have a complaint about the refrigerator. I get mold. There are still some issues.

Last year, a group of NITHA residents and Far Rockaway got together and talked to more than 100 people at Ocean Bay houses. 19% said their management company had tried to evict them. 40% said conditions had gotten worse. NYCHA has made some changes in response to the backlash. Soon, some residents will get to vote on the future of their development. They can join the PAC program, stay Section 9, Or there's a third option, called the Preservation Trust.

We all know our buildings need repairs. And you would want a management company to come in and do nature's job better. But this program gives for-profit landlords control of our buildings. And these contracts last for 99 years. Our choice isn't just a choice for us. It's a choice for the future of public housing. If my complex ever gets to vote, I know it's not going to be an easy choice. For WMYC, I'm Radio Rookies reporter Fonsecauaba.

You can hear all of the stories in our Radio Rookiees series at RadioRookies.org. Radio Rookies is supported in part by the N.E. Casey Foundation, Epstein-Tyker, Philanthropies, the Margaret Newbart Foundation, and the Pinkerton Foundation. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Quick shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Boutich, Amber Bruce, Ave Carrio, Andre Cooper, Liora Noam Cravitz, Jared Marcel, and Wayne Schollmeister, with the help of the entire WNYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the folks at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Sean Carlson. Have a great weekend. We'll be back on Monday.