Good Old Lower East Side

PHROLES UPDATE

May 03, 2001

On April 25th, Council Member Margarita Lopez, Baruch Tenant Association and Good Old Lower East Side?’s Public Housing Residents of Lower East Side (PHROLES) members will meet with public housing residents to discuss why apartments are vacant in public housing while tenants are waiting for transfers.
On Thursday, April 26th, the Contracts committee chaired by Council Member Kathryn Freed and the Housing and Buildings Committee chaired by Council Member Archie Spigner will have a hearing on NYHCA?’s compliance with prevailing wage and the procurement process. At this hearing, members of Public Housing Residents of the Lower East Side will present information on NYHCA?’s noncompliance with the implementation of Section 3. For example, NYCHAs winning bidders in 9 recently awarded contracts indicated plans to hire no or very few public housing residents. Columbia Law School Students and MFY Legal Services reviewed information provided by NYCHA under a Freedom of Information request. The hope is that NYCHA will work with contractors to hire public housing residents through certified apprenticeship training programs. PHROLES members are preparing testimony and are working closely with the Alliance for a Working Economy.