TESTIMONY
Karen Blondel, Resident of NYCHA Community, on NYCHA Transformation and Oversight Challenges
2:51:28
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167 sec
Karen Blondel, a NYCHA community resident, shares her insights on the NYCHA transformation plan and its oversight challenges.
- Blondel appreciates Council Member Chris Banks and expresses eagerness to meet him.
- She discusses her firsthand experience with the NYCHA transformation plan, praising its intent but noting deficiencies in coverage.
- Highlights her opposition to the Radiological Assistance Program (Rad Pak) but acknowledges some benefits, like preventing overcharging.
- Asserts the need for NYCHA to be segmented for better management and stresses the urgent implementation of Department of Energy recommendations from 2021.
- Advocates for more thorough audits, better accountability of emergency contracts, and a more streamlined approach to managerial duties within NYCHA.
Karen Blondel
2:51:28
Hi.
2:51:29
This is Karen Blondell.
2:51:31
First of all, thank you, Chris Banks.
2:51:33
This is my first time meeting you virtually.
2:51:36
You took over for council member Alexis Avalez, who is our council member.
2:51:41
And I look forward to meeting you sooner rather than later.
2:51:45
I am I previously worked at night because I wanted to know if the transformation plan worked.
2:51:53
It is working, but it does not cover this area of oversight.
2:51:59
I can say that when I became a board member of the trust, I did that to protect residents like myself and to be on the inside to know exactly what would be happening inside of the trust.
2:52:12
Prior to the trust, we only had Rad Pak I was 100% against Rad Pak.
2:52:17
But now, thinking about this $700 light bulb, I believe that on the red pack with private developers, they would never let anybody charge them $700 for a light bulb.
2:52:30
So there are some pros to Rad Pak, and there are some pros to the preservation.
2:52:37
I will say that when I found out the preservation trust, we'd be using the same nights and employees.
2:52:43
It took me about a month to get myself together.
2:52:46
Why?
2:52:47
Because I think that there is a lot of oversight needed.
2:52:51
Nitro, it's too big.
2:52:53
It needs to be broken down into smaller sectors.
2:52:57
Management should be held to task.
2:52:59
But most of the things that I heard, DOE, those recommendations that DOE made in 2021 It's 2024.
2:53:07
Let's implement these now.
2:53:09
We don't have time to keep on coming back and forth to these hearings.
2:53:13
After this, the next day we'll be talking about is stolen air conditioners.
2:53:17
Come on, yeah, let's get this together.
2:53:19
We have to have confidence as residents.
2:53:23
As the resident leaders, which I am of the Red Oak Houses, and as a board member of the trust that we're gonna turn this ship around.
2:53:30
Because if we don't have that conflict,
UNKNOWN
2:53:32
you know, so much your time has expired.
Karen Blondel
2:53:35
Fighting for nature or becoming private, which is in a better shape at this point than what's happening now at NATO, unfortunately.
2:53:44
We need a a audit on the ground.
2:53:48
To figure out exactly what are the best ways to stay in control over these emergency contracts.
2:53:55
We're gonna need them.
2:53:56
There's no way you can run something that's big across the New York City and that have emergency contracts.
2:54:01
Oh, wow.
2:54:02
But we should be test thing with the the manager should be running around, doing court, doing this, doing that.
2:54:09
We should streamline what each manager is doing, and then we should start holding people accountable.
2:54:14
I yield, and thank you.