BOSTON (WHDH) - From dead mice to jammed doors, ongoing issues inside Boston public housing are leaving many residents frustrated.
People living in public housing complexes across the city said they have had to wait months and even years for maintenance requests to be addressed.
“We shouldn’t be living like this,” one resident told 7 Investigates anonymously.
7 Investigates uncovered the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has more than 17,000 open maintenance requests. Each request is taking the BHA an average of 2.5 months to fix. However, some residents have said they have waited years.
Public housing tenants anonymously agreed to allow 7 Investigates inside their homes. They showed rusting tubs, holes in walls, along with dead roaches and mice. Many shared a fear of speaking out publicly and expressed frustration of waiting for improvements.
The BHA received more than 70,000 work order requests last year; a 33% increase from 2021. This year more than 24,000 work orders had already been placed between January and April.
“They are so backed up on their work orders, it’s ridiculous,” one resident said. “Every time you call for a work order or a complaint, ‘Oh we’re short staffed.’”
Derrel Weathers is a community advocate who heads the local group, Voices of Liberation. He and his group have pushed for residents to speak out and file complaints to bring awareness to these conditions.
“We haven’t got much change from the Boston Housing Authority and we want more,” Weathers said. “We want living conditions to change right now; not later.”
Boston city councilor Julia Mejia has teamed up with Voices of Liberation to see these conditions firsthand and shed further light on them to other city leaders. For the last few months, her ‘Dying to Live Tour’ has captured images of roaches in kitchens and mounds of trash piling up in basements.
“I think it’s important for us to really tell the truth, to really show these conditions so that we can fight for the things that people really need, especially now during budget season,” Mejia said.
She said she was shocked by how disregarded residents have been.
“It shouldn’t have to take us doing this work for something to change,” she said.
The conditions at BHA haven’t just caught Mejia’s attention. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Attorney General sued the BHA for breaking housing laws and in one case failing to move a family who lived with mice and black mold for years.
Boston’s Department of Inspectional Services also cited the agency for violating sanitary codes and the minimum standards of fitness for human habitation. The city found roach infestations, mice droppings and peeling paint across units, according to records filed in court.
Boston Housing Authority administrator Kenzie Bok said addressing maintenance issues is a top priority.
“Our residents deserve decent, high-quality housing. Anytime that they are not receiving that, first of all, we want to know. Second of all, the onus is on us to do everything in our power to coordinate all of the BHA’s resources so they are not experiencing that,” Bok said.
Many of these maintenance needs predated her taking over the top job at BHA last summer. She said COVID-19 and aging buildings are some of the factors behind the increasing number of work orders. The BHA also inspected every unit last summer which generated many of the 70,000 orders filed.
Another contributor to the backlog is the antiquated system BHA uses to submit maintenance requests. Bok is pushing to change that this summer by rolling out a new electronic system.
“We are working hard to make sure it’s as efficient as possible because it should be that residents don’t have to take five different ways to get the attention that they deserve,” Bok said.
She said her goal is to get emergencies dealt with in 24 hours and routine issues addressed in 30 days.
“I’m never going to tell anyone that their problem isn’t important or we can’t get to it. It’s just a strategy of trying to figure out how do we get to everything as quickly as we can and how do we make system changes so we don’t constantly labor under these same issues,” Bok said.
Bok stresses that she is trying to do the most with the resources the BHA does have, but more is needed.
“People have to get paid to do carpentry and plumbing and fix things, so we don’t have as much resources as we need to address all the issues in the buildings,” she said.
BHA estimated it would take $1.5 billion to address all its deferred capital needs.
The need for more funding in public housing spans across the state and country.
Many advocates are hoping Governor Maura Healey’s proposed Affordable Homes Act will pass. The bill would set aside $1.6 billion for public housing; money that would directly assist in the repairs and modernization of more than 40,000 units across the state.
In the meantime, housing advocates and leaders are encouraging residents to speak out about their conditions and file work orders.
“I think people coming into city hall and telling their stories and opening up their doors and showing how people are really living that is how things are really going to change,” Meija said. “People need to feel a sense of responsibility for the constituents they serve.”
Here’s how to file a public housing work order:
From dead mice to jammed doors, ongoing issues inside Boston public housing is leaving many residents frustrated.
People living in public housing complexes across the city said they have had to wait months and even years for maintenance requests to be addressed.
“We shouldn’t be living like this,” one resident told 7 Investigates anonymously.
7 Investigates uncovered the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has more than 17,000 open maintenance requests. Each request is taking the BHA an average of 2.5 months to fix. However, some residents have said they have waited years.
Public housing tenants anonymously agreed to allow 7 Investigates inside their homes. They showed rusting tubs, holes in walls, along with dead roaches and mice. Many shared a fear of speaking out publicly and expressed frustration of waiting for improvements.
The BHA received more than 70,000 work order requests last year; a 33% increase from 2021. This year more than 24,000 work orders had already been placed between January and April.
“They are so backed up on their work orders, it’s ridiculous,” one resident said. “Every time you call for a work order or a complaint, ‘Oh we’re short staffed.’”
Derrel Weathers is a community advocate who heads the local group, Voices of Liberation. He and his group have pushed for residents to speak out and file complaints to bring awareness to these conditions.
“We haven’t got much change from the Boston Housing Authority and we want more,” Weathers said. “We want living conditions to change right now; not later.”
Boston city councilor Julia Mejia has teamed up with Voices of Liberation to see these conditions firsthand and shed further light on them to other city leaders. For the last few months, her ‘Dying to Live Tour’ has captured images of roaches in kitchens and mounds of trash piling up in basements.
“I think it’s important for us to really tell the truth, to really show these conditions so that we can fight for the things that people really need, especially now during budget season,” Mejia said.
She said she was shocked by how disregarded residents have been.
“It shouldn’t have to take us doing this work for something to change,” she said.
The conditions at BHA haven’t just caught Mejia’s attention. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Attorney General sued the BHA for breaking housing laws and in one case failing to move a family who lived with mice and black mold for years.
Boston’s Department of Inspectional Services also cited the agency for violating sanitary codes and the minimum standards of fitness for human habitation. The city found roach infestations, mice droppings and peeling paint across units, according to records filed in court.
Boston Housing Authority administrator Kenzie Bok said addressing maintenance issues is a top priority.
“Our residents deserve decent, high-quality housing. Anytime that they are not receiving that, first of all, we want to know. Second of all, the onus is on us to do everything in our power to coordinate all of the BHA’s resources so they are not experiencing that,” Bok said.
Many of these maintenance needs predated her taking over the top job at BHA last summer. She said COVID-19 and aging buildings are some of the factors behind the increasing number of work orders. The BHA also inspected every unit last summer which generated many of the 70,000 orders filed.
Another contributor to the backlog is the antiquated system BHA uses to submit maintenance requests. Bok is pushing to change that this summer by rolling out a new electronic system.
“We are working hard to make sure it’s as efficient as possible because it should be that residents don’t have to take five different ways to get the attention that they deserve,” Bok said.
She said her goal is to get emergencies dealt with in 24 hours and routine issues addressed in 30 days.
“I’m never going to tell anyone that their problem isn’t important or we can’t get to it. It’s just a strategy of trying to figure out how do we get to everything as quickly as we can and how do we make system changes so we don’t constantly labor under these same issues,” Bok said.
Bok stresses that she is trying to do the most with the resources the BHA does have, but more is needed.
“People have to get paid to do carpentry and plumbing and fix things, so we don’t have as much resources as we need to address all the issues in the buildings,” she said.
BHA estimated it would take $1.5 billion to address all its deferred capital needs.
The need for more funding in public housing spans across the state and country.
Many advocates are hoping Governor Maura Healey’s proposed Affordable Homes Act will pass. The bill would set aside $1.6 billion for public housing; money that would directly assist in the repairs and modernization of more than 40,000 units across the state.
In the meantime, housing advocates and leaders are encouraging residents to speak out about their conditions and file work orders.
“I think people coming into city hall and telling their stories and opening up their doors and showing how people are really living that is how things are really going to change,” Meija said. “People need to feel a sense of responsibility for the constituents they serve.”
Here’s how to file a public housing work order: https://www.bostonhousing.org/en/Public-Housing/Getting-Settled/Repairs.aspx
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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