City Councilman Eric N.Gioia (D-Woodside) of Sunnyside, Queens, called the city’s temporary housing program for low-income or homeless HIV-positive and AIDS patients “substandard,” and demanded it not continue unchecked.
The councilman on January 18th joined Council members Bill de Blasio and Christine Quinn in proposing legislation that would force the Human Resources Administration (HRA), which runs the HIV and AIDS Services Administration, to be more accountable to its clients.
“New York City has not only a legal obligation, but a moral imperative, to provide for our society’s most vulnerable citizens,” Gioia said.
The city is mandated to provide housing to homeless AIDS or HIV victims. When a patient contacts the office and no permanent rooms are immediately available, the city must find temporary housing.
However, a recent City Council investigation found a majority of patients were directed to single-room occupancy (SRO) spaces racked with housing violations and unsafe living conditions.
The investigation, which was instigated by the New York City AIDS Housing Network, a Brooklyn-based patient advocacy group, found units with rodent infestation, structural damage, no heat, no electricity and improper locks.
Network Executive Director Jennifer Flynn said because the group works directly with patients, often going door-to-door, they had been growing increasingly concerned over the city’s use of SROs.
She said employees noticed many violations including landlords who were shoving up to four people in a space only meant for one or two. So last year, the group contacted the City Council, asking them to look into the situation.
According to the council report, 73 percent of the emergency units had open violations, 33 percent of which were “immediately hazardous.” Also, 50 percent of the facilities did not provide court-mandated amenities such as linens and mattresses, and 57 percent had more than one client sharing a bedroom, which is a violation.
Officials visited 25 facilities and interviewed 19 clients in their research. They found 63 percent of the clients said that HRA had not assisted them in finding permanent housing and 58 percent said they had resided in emergency housing for over three months. In some cases, clients had remained in temporary housing for more than a year.
The report also found the city was subsidizing landlords thousands of dollars for the one-room flats with shared kitchens and bathrooms. In one case, the administration was shelling out $2,100 a month for an SRO.
Asked how this was allowed to continue, Flynn pointed out that many landlords are politically connected.
She said it is rare that the “cheaper alternative” provides a better living standard, but in this case it is true. Some permanent AIDS housing facilities offer a studio apartment, three meals a day, recreational activities and onsite medical services for only $1,100 a month. But, the city’s 3,600 patients in emergency housing are not being referred to such housing, even when rooms do come available.
“Honestly, the city hasn’t felt a hell of a lot of pressure (to do so),” Flynn said.
A representative for the HRA was contacted, but was unable to provide comment by press time.
Gioia’s proposed legislation comes only a month after HRA Commissioner Verna Eggleston announced the expiration of a three-year federal court monitoring period, stemming from a 1995 class action suit against the city that was handed down in favor of the plaintiffs in 2000.
The bill actually extends the reporting requirements of that monitoring period. It asks HRA to fill out a report card every three months with information on how often the temporary apartments have been inspected, how long a patient has been in temporary housing and how many clients are enrolled in other benefits programs.
Quinn’s bill mandates a centralized referral system for temporary housing and de Blasio’s sets a specific timeframe in which the administration must act to assist clients.
