PACC Catches Heat for Lack Thereof at 277 Gates Avenue
In the last two decades, the Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) has developed over 600 units of affordable housing in more than 60 buildings around the borough of Brooklyn, building a good reputation in the process. Now, however, a group of tenants at 277 Gates Avenue, one of the group’s hallmark projects, is calling foul…
In the last two decades, the Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) has developed over 600 units of affordable housing in more than 60 buildings around the borough of Brooklyn, building a good reputation in the process. Now, however, a group of tenants at 277 Gates Avenue, one of the group’s hallmark projects, is calling foul over persistent heating problems and other quality of life issues. A Daily News article earlier this month detailed claims of the tenants association that the building has been without heat for days at a time this winter, as it has in past winters. “[The boiler] never really ran the way it was supposed to,” concedes PACC’s property manager Stephanie Blue in the article. We contacted PACC’s head Deb Howard who told us that PACC is in the process of getting the NYC Housing Development Corporation to approve the replacement of the boiler, a move that’s necessary because it requires dipping into reserves held in escrow at HDC; HDC’s engineers are scheduled to do a site visit today. In a recent blog post, the president of the tenants association also cites problems with sex workers using the bathroom in the laundry room, a charge that Howard says PACC addressed last year when the problem was first raised by installing a new lock on the laundry room door and telling tenants to call the police if they saw anything suspicious. “We are a member of the FTAP program and have agreed to prosecute any illegal activity occurring on the premises, if the police make an arrest ,” says Howard. GMAP
PACC states its has been working on the boiler for 4 years and still has not found a way to provide heat in the winter. Yet, it claims that our complaints of no heat are a fabrication.
Could it be that PACC wants to protect a reputation as a tenants’ rights organization in order to keep receiving government grants and loans, that it uses to build condos at $400,000-$800,000 (affordable housing?) but can not figure how they could provide heat in a mixed income 35 unit building including young families, and elderly adults?
By the way the lock on the laundry door stopped working days after it was installed.
Portia Adams, president 277 Gates Tenants Association,
http://277gatestenants.blogspot.com
I’m sorry to see this. This complex was one of the few shining examples of stability, success and management giving a damn back in the early 80’s. I used to pass these buildings on my way to work, when I worked near Pratt, and I was always glad to see these gorgeous buildings free of trash, grafitti and people hanging out. I didn’t know this was a PACC project. I hope they get it together, and take care of these serious problems.
“”[The boiler] never really ran the way it was supposed to,” concedes PACC’s property manager Stephanie Blue in the article.”
“sex workers using the bathroom in the laundry room”
I think would have a problem with this if I were a tenant.