LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (PIX11) — Marcia Fudge, the U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, toured the largest public housing development in New York City on Monday.
Fudge toured apartments at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, Queens and met with community groups making a difference there. Fudge also met with NYCHA’s interim CEO, Lisa Bova-Hiatt, and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who has a long track record of fighting for funding for NYCHA residents.
Sharin Walker, 57, has lived at the Queensbridge Houses since 1989. She said she has watched her NYCHA development go from a thriving community to a place that needs repairs and resources. Walker, like so many other NYCHA residents, needs repairs in her bathroom and kitchen. Walker met face-to-face with Bova-Hiatt on Monday and was able to vent and receive a promise of repairs.
During the tour, Fudge also visited Urban Upbound, a nonprofit organization in the heart of the Queensbridge Houses. The nonprofit brings jobs, financial programs and mental health services to residents.
Bishop Mitchell Taylor, the CEO and co-founder of Urban Upbound, said the focus of programs is breaking the cycles of poverty by giving residents the tools and resources for financial freedom.
