The seniors at the Baruch Addition public housing complex bundled up this afternoon and joined State Sen. Daniel Squadron to celebrate a victory years in the making. A long-delayed security door has finally been installed at the NYCHA development.
Back in May of 2015, Squadron came to the building at 72 Columbia St. to announce he’d allocated $240,000 for the project. It included a new automatic front door, intercom system and keyless fob entry. The installation was supposed to be complete this past September. But this is NYCHA, meaning almost nothing happens when it’s promised. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, the residents went inside for a training session on using the new security system.
Squadron said security issues are the number one concern he hears across the community, so he was happy to fund the project. But he added, “The job isn’t done.” While NYCHA is getting better at handling maintenance issues, the senator said, public housing residents still must wait too long for critical repairs and upgrades. Squadron called on the state to devote more money for public housing in the budget.
