For decades, they have seen NYCHA inspectors sign off on work that was never done, union workers clock out every day before residents could let them in to make repairs, and exterminators pointlessly leave bait trays in dirt floor basements that rats effortlessly tunneled into, among many other problems and inefficiencies.
NYCHA’s current system lacks clear lines of authority, which makes it hard for the agency to get out of its own way. Its announcement Monday even refers to a “six-borough management structure,” seemingly oblivious to the fact that the city has only five. It is tempting to imagine an entire division of NYCHA workers assigned to a non-existent borough.