22 The Queens Courier • JANUARY 11, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 11, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
sun
THE QUEENS
editorial
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
CONTROLLER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
KATRINA MEDOFF, RYAN KELLEY, ANGELA MATUA
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
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Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
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FROZEN OVER AT JFK AIRPORT // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @julia.cody
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STORY: Here’s what you can expect when the ‘bomb cyclone’ of snow
drops on Queens
SUMMARY: New York City was under a state of emergency due to the
“bomb cyclone” that delivered blizzard-like conditions in Queens.
REACH: 17,898 people (as of 1/11/18)
It’s time for a public housing master plan
New York City’s public housing system is showing its age at the worst possible
time.
Th e two-week deep freeze that gripped our city led to heating failures that
aff ected tens of thousands of families residing in New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA) buildings, the Daily News reported. Th e city received
upwards of 22,000 heat and hot water complaints during that time; the
Woodside Houses suff ered such problems last week when a boiler died
during the “bomb cyclone” snowstorm that struck the area.
Prior to this, the city’s been grappling with regular maintenance issues at
NYCHA buildings and grappling with a lead paint controversy. It was reported
that the city failed to conduct proper lead paint inspections as required
under federal law.
With all the infrastructure problems arising within the aging NYCHA
buildings — many of which are more than 60 years old and constructed
during the ill-fated slum clearance program — the time has come for the city
to take a diff erent approach when it comes to public housing.
When they were fi rst constructed in the 1940s and 1950s, the public housing
complexes — gigantic apartment buildings erected on large swaths of
land called superblocks — as an improvement to the purported “slums” they
replaced.
But they turned out to be, as Jane Jacobs described in her landmark book
“Th e Death and Life of Great American Cities,” “low-income projects that
become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness
than the slums they were supposed to replace.”
Th e de Blasio administration now has the opportunity, if it so chooses, to
begin the process of reinventing the city’s public housing system. Th e city
can pursue a master plan of developing communities out of the complexes,
replacing apartment towers on superblocks with scores of three- to four-family
homes for low-income families and locally owned small businesses serving
them.
Th e task, however, is daunting. It would cost millions upon millions of dollars
to complete, and wouldn’t be fi nished for decades. Th e city cannot wait
to fi x the immediate problems facing NYCHA; obviously, that must be made
a top priority.
But it behooves the city, in the interest in making it more aff ordable and
livable for everyone, to get something started. Other cities such as Chicago
and Washington, D.C., have long replaced public housing towers with public
housing communities, and it’s long past time for New York City to follow
suit.
We’re not talking about opening up a new door for gentrifi cation; that’s the
last thing we want. What we desire, however, is for the city to provide low-income
residents with well-built, modern housing that they deserve.
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Associate Publisher Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
VP, Events, Web & Social Media Amy Amato-Sanchez
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Katrina Medoff, Angela Matua
Suzanne Monteverdi
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Assistant to Publisher Deborah Cusick
Classified Manager Celeste Alamin
Controller Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.