Long-sought appliances finally reach Ft. Indy Houses

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It was a long time coming, but new stoves and refrigerators are arriving at the Ft. Independence Houses.

The chief of staff for Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who allocated funds toward the appliances in 2014, and the vice president of the Ft. Independence Houses’ Tenants’ Association said NYCHA began installing the stoves and fridges last month.

“They started to move the stoves, so it’s just a matter of time before everyone receives one,” beamed Barbara Luray, the vice president of the tenants’ association. “I’m happy. The conditions were deplorable.”

In May 2014, Mr. Cabrera announced $411,000 in capital funding for new fridges and stoves, many of which were years old and barely functioning.

Mr. Cabrera fumed as NYCHA sat on the funding for months. His chief of staff, Greg Faulkner, said in May of this year that the reason was  “incompetence or indifference or both.”

Eventually, Mr. Cabrera and NYCHA worked out an arrangement in which the councilman’s funds would go toward repairing Ft. Independence’s aging natural gas infrastructure, with the authority paying for the appliances.

Last week, a NYCHA spokeswoman confirmed the authority has purchased 308 stoves and 335 refrigerators for the site.

While the Ft. Independence Houses have 344 apartments, Mr. Faulkner said the discrepancy was likely due to the fact that NYCHA installed new appliances at some homes over the past year.

“I’m going to look at this positively,” he said. “The good news is the stoves are actually getting to the people who need them.”

However, Mr. Faulkner said the city’s Department of Finance told him it would not green-light a similar undertaking in the future. The agency did not immediately answer a request for comment.

When council members allocate capital funds to NYCHA housing within in their districts, the money usually goes to projects like repairs or security cameras.

Mr. Cabrera’s move to spend capital funding on a major project appeared to be a unique experiment in helping out the chronically underfunded housing authority.

“We’ve been going crazy with NYCHA,” Mr. Faulkner remarked in a phone interview last week.

Asked for comment on Mr. Cabrera’s frustration, a NYCHA spokeswoman said in an e-mail: “NYCHA is grateful to Council Member Cabrera for funding these much needed appliances for the residents of Fort Independence Houses. We look forward to working with him in future capital projects for the benefit of our residents.”

Ft. Independence Houses, Fernando Cabrera, NYCHA, Barbara Luray, Shant Shahrigian

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