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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ricardine Verdiner, Tenant Leader of 2910 Wallace Avenue Tenant Association
2:03:04
ยท
164 sec
Ricardine Verdiner, a tenant leader from 2910 Wallace Avenue, testifies about her experience as a victim of a fire in her building on January 10. She expresses frustration with the lack of support for working-class families displaced by fires and criticizes the negligence of slumlords that leads to such incidents.
- Verdiner highlights the gap in assistance programs for working-class families who don't qualify for many forms of aid despite being displaced and struggling.
- She proposes several measures to address slumlord negligence, including unannounced inspections, criminal charges for negligent landlords, and a tenant ownership program for neglected buildings.
- The testimony emphasizes the need for emergency housing assistance for working-class families and argues that safe housing should be a basic right, not a privilege.
Ricardine Verdiner
2:03:04
Good morning everyone.
2:03:05
Before I start my testimony, I just wanna say on record that what the deputy commissioner of HPD and the fire chief has said, some things weren't our experience.
2:03:15
They it didn't happen.
2:03:18
But my name is Ricardine Verdunier Bernard.
2:03:20
I am a tenant leader and have been living in 2910 Wallace since I was seven.
2:03:25
So that means I was I was I've been there for thirty two years.
2:03:28
Let me start off by saying there aren't enough words in my lexicon to express what my family and I expressed I mean experienced on January 10 and since that day our lives has been upside down.
2:03:40
The need of support and comfort has been something we have been searching for yet is nowhere to be found.
2:03:45
It is absent, we are lost, we are hurt, and we are angry.
2:03:49
Nonetheless, we are confused, confused about what has been bestowed on us because during the weeks of the fire, I've learned a harsh reality that there is no real support for working class.
2:03:59
My husband and I worked so hard to provide for our family, but because we make a certain amount, we don't qualify for many assistant programs.
2:04:06
Although we are in the family living center, we are still homeless.
2:04:11
We are struggling and the system has no safety net for people like us.
2:04:14
It appears that fire victims fall through the cracks of bureaucracy and twenty nine ten Wallace had many multiple complaints and violations, specifically nine violations that day.
2:04:24
We begged for repairs and we were ignored.
2:04:28
Three eleven was called then HPD was contacted for recurrent issues and nothing was resolved.
2:04:34
It was just a band aid over a deep wound.
2:04:37
Slumlords are notorious for intentional negligence and they get away with murder.
2:04:42
The housing business is the only business that you can get rewarded for providing poor service.
2:04:47
So, I stand before the city council and I urge the city to act against slumlords before more lives are lost and more families are being displaced.
2:04:55
So, I am proposing the following.
2:04:57
No more allowing slumlords to cover up their problems be I'm sorry.
2:05:02
No more allowing slumlords to cover up the problems before inspections.
2:05:05
Unannounced mandatory safety inspections of all rental properties owned by landlords with prior violations and immediate seize of properties owned by slumlords who repeatedly neglect complaints and inhabitable conditions, a tenant ownership program that allows residents to take control of abandoned or neglected buildings, criminal charges for slumlords who negligence leads to fires, collapses and other desires, and lastly and most importantly, emergency housing assistance for working class families that are displaced.
2:05:34
We aren't asking for handouts, we are simply asking for justice.
2:05:38
Safe housing isn't a basic right, not a safe housing is a basic right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.
2:05:45
Thank you City Council and may God continue to bless us all.