COMMUNITY VOICES HEARD STATEMENT ON MITCHEL HOUSES BUILDING COLLAPSE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMMUNITY VOICES HEARD STATEMENT ON MITCHEL HOUSES BUILDING COLLAPSE

Today's incinerator shaft collapse at the Mitchel Houses in the South Bronx is a stark and scary reminder of NYCHA’s crumbling infrastructure crisis – and entirely preventable. This incident is the direct result of years of disinvestment at every level of government. This type of dysfunction is further exacerbated by the current federal shutdown, which will prevent any response to this crisis.

For years, Community Voices Heard members – many of whom are NYCHA residents themselves – have demanded increased funding for critical repairs to public housing. We have organized, testified, and fought tirelessly for the resources needed to keep our neighbors safe. But our City, State, and Federal government have deliberately chosen to ignore public housing residents again and again.

This is the culmination of continued disinvestment, playing out in real time against the backdrop of a concerted attack on the agencies responsible for maintaining this building and public housing buildings across the country. Impending federal cuts to HUD are pushing us to a critical decision point that will require immediate action from New York State. CVH and partners demanded $4 billion for NYCHA capital repairs in the 2025 state budget – lawmakers allocated a mere $360 million, a catastrophic lack of investment that this moment has now clearly exposed. 

The Mitchel Housing Complex houses over 3,500 New Yorkers in 1,730 units across 10 residential buildings. Where will all of these families go? Many of these residents will face displacement, exacerbating an already devastating housing crisis in our city. These families are potentially facing homelessness as the temperatures drop because every level of government chose to do nothing.

NYCHA residents have been sounding the alarm about crumbling infrastructure for decades. Our members’ pleas fell on deaf ears. How many more buildings have to collapse? How many more families have to be displaced before our elected officials prioritize the lives and safety of public housing residents?

NYCHA residents across the city are forced to risk their lives every day just to have housing. The New York City Public Advocate tracked 600,233 open work orders last year and an estimated $78,340,000,000 for necessary repairs.

We are owed real investment of our tax dollars into housing that supports New York State residents. Not promises. Not half-measures. Full funding to address NYCHA's capital needs backlog and to ensure that what happened today never happens again. 

About Community Voices HeardCommunity Voices Heard (CVH) is a Black and brown-led, power-building organization committed to fighting for dignity for people with low incomes and all New Yorkers. Guided by members, we center women’s voices and create unity to win financial security, a fully participatory democracy, and truly affordable homes for every New Yorker. CVH leads community organizing across the state because we will only achieve an equitable New York when we organize and fight together.