Tenants get housing vouchers back after human error
Plus Right to Shelter settlement and HERO WORSHIP #75
Speaker Adrienne Adams held her annual State of the City at BAM this week, focused on the little things that make the city livable. The little things, of course, aren’t so little – childcare costs and housing costs are insane, and it can often feel harder and harder to be a normally-paid person and survive in the city. You can read her full speech here and my writeup here.
Also this week:
A few years ago, after the COVID eviction moratorium was lifted, Legal Aid attorneys noticed people at housing court who’d been evicted despite having housing vouchers through FHEPS or CityFHEPS. They soon realized some people – likely hundreds, maybe more – had their vouchers accidentally removed due to human error. They sued last year and this week reached a settlement with the city, with the judge allowing it to be a class action case.
The takeaway is people will get their vouchers back. You can read it all here.
Other interesting stories
✨Private NYCHA managers are evicting more tenants [THE CITY]
✨The city council is formally considering disciplinary action against Inna Vernikov over her gun incident [DN]
✨The NYPD was ousting street vendors selling Islamic goods just before Ramadan [THE CITY]
✨See where our elected officials like to eat! [NYC HOSPITALITY ALLIANCE]
✨A deep dive into the bad conditions at Beth Israel [POLITICO]
☘️🐍 St Paddy’s Day-themed attacks on Gov. Hochul from the TWU [NY1]
🥪 And Irish food to enjoy around town [EATER]
🔈LISTEN🔈
We talked about crime on the subway for this week’s FAQ
A few weeks ago I went to Staten Island for a press conference to antagonize city officials on a topic unrelated to the press conference. As a result, I earned about Mary Cali Dalton, one of many New Yorkers who worked hard to make this city great. (You can listen to her daughter share her mom’s story and maybe you’ll weep like I did.)
When it was over, I was emotionally drained and starving, so I set out to find something to eat. I crossed the bridge again and found myself on 13th Avenue in Dyker Heights, a street I remember from my grandparents’ wakes and old visits to the Mona Lisa bakery. I stepped inside La Bella Marketplace hoping to get maybe a quart of antipasta for the road (do not act like you’ve never done this.) I found something better.
Inside was a bakery counter with a large pizza oven in the middle and a man pulling out large square pies and all kinds of rolls – chicken, veggie, spinach. I chatted with the guy on line ahead of me who ordered a slice and a chicken roll and told me everything in that place was good. In fact, he was on his way to lunch at Joe’s of Avenue U right after; the food, he said, was for the ride. You gotta respect that.
I ordered a veggie pesto slice that was one of the best squares I’ve ever had, a light and airy dough with an amazing sauce to cheese to topping ratio. I also ordered this sandwich for later, but to be honest, it did not fully make it to later. I ate a few bites in my car. The prosciutto and the arugula on this amazing bread was so simple, yet so elevated.
There are two La Bella’s — the one in Brooklyn and also one on Staten Island. If you’re close, go visit hungry and grab something for the road.
La Bella Marketplace, 7907 13th Ave, Brooklyn and 99 Ellis St., Staten Island