Residents of city-owned properties are accusing the Binghamton Housing Authority (BHA) of neglect and mismanagement. Tenants have drawn up a petition and are considering a rent strike.
Jesula Saintus lives in one of the BHA properties being renovated. She said tenants decided to draft a petition when they realized dozens of them were dealing with similar problems. They say the BHA wasn’t responding to their requests.
“A lot of homes have mold and asbestos in it that is not being taken care of properly which is causing a lot of health issues for a lot of people,” Saintus said.
She said another concern is rent increases. Some tenants say they’ve made living in BHA-housing unaffordable. Saintus said amenities are disappearing and in-unit washers and dryers are being removed.
Tenants now have to pay to use shared machines that don’t always work. Saintus said it’s an additional cost and for some disabled or elderly residents, it’s an obstacle.
“They keep nickeling and diming the people in the community and it’s not fair,” she said.
Binghamton City Council Member Rebecca Rathmell said she and others on the Council have been hearing from tenants more often since this spring. They also heard from the Binghamton Tenants Union who came to them with concerns that the BHA wasn’t following some federal regulations.
BHA is a public agency. Most of its funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rathmell said the city council invited BHA Executive Director Jean Westcott to attend a council meeting. They wanted to hear from her about the complaints. Rathmell said she refused.
In a statement to WSKG, Westcott said tenants can choose to either pay up to 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities, or 80 percent of fair market value.
Saintus said they planned to attend the August board meeting and present their petition, but the meeting was suddenly canceled. BHA alleges staff or board members were threatened.
The board meetings are open to the public. The next one is scheduled for September 29.