Bronx community teams up to promote call center for NYCHA residents

Pix11.com • June 19, 2025

NEW YORK (PIX11) — A collection of more than a hundred congregations and community organizations has teamed up with a local legislator to promote an independent oversight agency to help NYCHA residents get repairs that they say are underused.

PIX11’s Monica Morales got an exclusive chance to see a new social media campaign to help get the word out. The OCC is an independent agency that any NYCHA resident can call or submit an online repair complaint to 24 hours a day. A representative will respond within 1 business day to address your complaint. The problem, Rep. Ritchie Torres says, is in the public relations. Congressman Torres is trying to get the word out, partnering with a nonprofit powerhouse called Metro IAF, a collection of more than a hundred congregations and community organizations, launching a social media campaign starting this week.


Torres says the number one problem is that people might not know about the OCC. Torres says more than 30,000 families have already called and received help since the OCC was created. and hopes more tenants will call for help.

A NYCHA spokesperson tells PIX11 News:


“NYCHA has employed a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving mold and leak compliance, and there has been considerable progress in decreasing verified mold complaints, reducing reoccurrence, improving scheduling, and expediting response times. NYCHA regularly works with the court-appointed, independent Ombudsperson Call Center (OCC) and, together, have assisted over 30,000 NYCHA households with mold-related concerns to date. NYCHA encourages residents to call the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 or submit work tickets through the MyNYCHA application for all repair needs, including mold remediation. Additionally, residents experiencing issues related to existing mold or leak work orders can also contact the OCC hotline at 1-888-341-7152 or at ombnyc.com.”

Come Back to Us’: Public Housing Residents Press Mamdani to Deliver on Promises

By Sunny Nagpaul — City Limits • October 27, 2026
More than 2,000 public housing residents, community leaders, and faith organizations gathered at Queens College to call on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to deliver on his housing commitments. Organized by Metro IAF, the assembly focused on improving NYCHA living conditions, holding private management partners accountable, expan

183 Affordable Senior Homes Open in East New York

By BK Reader • September 23, 2026
Sarah Plowden Place has opened in East New York with 183 fully affordable homes for seniors, marking another milestone in the development of Nehemiah Spring Creek. Monadnock Development, East Brooklyn Congregations and Nehemiah HDFC celebrated the opening Sept. 16 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 890 Erskine St. The $135.9 million development provides homes for extremely low-income seniors and is intended to expand access to affordable housing in East New York. City Council Deputy Leader Chris Banks, state Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud, Assemblymember Nikki Lucas, representatives from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Development Corporation, residents and community leaders attended the event. “Sarah Plowden Place represents what it means to honor the people who built this community while making sure they can continue to call it home,” said City Council Deputy Leader Chris Banks, who represents the 42nd Council District. “Our seniors have spent decades raising families, supporting their neighbors, strengthening our churches and helping shape East Brooklyn into the community we know today. They deserve the opportunity to remain here, surrounded by the people and places that mean so much to them.” The building is named for Queen Mother Sarah Plowden, a faith leader at St. Paul Community Baptist Church, community organizer and affordable housing advocate whose work has helped shape East Brooklyn for more than four decades. Designed by Bernheimer Architecture PLLC, Sarah Plowden Place includes an outdoor recreation area, gym, library, community room, elevator and card-operated laundry room. Apartments feature quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances. The project was financed through HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartment program and Housing Infrastructure Fund, tax-exempt bonds issued by HDC and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits syndicated by National Equity Fund. TD Bank provided construction financing and invested in the tax credit equity, with additional support from Santander and Chase. Sarah Plowden Place is part of the 45-acre Nehemiah Spring Creek transformation, which began with a 2006 groundbreaking. The first phase, completed in 2010, included 368 single-, two- and three-family homes.  Monadnock Development and Nehemiah HDFC plan to continue their partnership on 1,380 additional affordable rental units. When completed, Nehemiah Spring Creek is expected to bring more than 2,000 housing units to East New York, along with retail and townhouse homeownership opportunities.

Hundreds Threatened With Eviction in Botched NYCHA Paperwork ‘Crisis’

By The City Reporter • June 30, 2026
A NYCHA paperwork backlog wrongly ended Section 8 subsidies, leaving hundreds of PACT residents facing eviction despite complying with program requirements.