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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Milagros Salazar, Member of AHORA, on Housing Connect Challenges
2:25:36
·
11 min
Milagros Salazar, a low-income health worker from the Bronx, shared her frustrating experiences with the Housing Connect system for affordable housing in New York City. She described the challenges she faced in applying for affordable housing, including complex application processes, strict income requirements, and technological barriers.
- Applied to 63 lotteries before securing an apartment, largely due to community preference
- Highlighted issues such as inconsistent eligibility criteria, short timeframes for document submission, and lack of clear communication
- Emphasized the need for a simplified, more accessible housing process that truly serves low-income New Yorkers, especially in areas like the Bronx
UNKNOWN
2:25:36
Okay.
2:25:39
Hello, Ms.
2:25:40
Sanchez, members of the housing committee here in New York.
2:25:45
First of all, thank you for the opportunity to let me to testify today.
2:25:50
My name is Milagros Salazar, a member of the group called Ahora.
2:25:54
Ahora means now in Spanish.
2:25:57
And in the day of today, I had come to share my testimony with Housing Connect about my experience submitting the application for this program.
2:26:07
This is the eligibility process, the accessible process in order to obtain an apartment for people with low income like I am.
2:26:15
I live and I work in The Bronx for more than ten years.
2:26:22
And member of Housing Connect since the year 2017.
2:26:27
The moment before I did that, I applied for around 63 lotteries in total, according to my earnings, according to my yearly earnings.
2:26:38
And after I submitted all these applications, I never got any responses.
2:26:45
Finally, after I was doing all these, I obtained my own apartment.
2:26:50
And one of the few people who was lucky about this.
2:26:54
And the reason is that it's a community preference that was in that area where I was living that helped me.
2:27:08
Yes.
2:27:08
I'm working as a health worker.
2:27:11
I'm working as a Hong HLA.
2:27:13
As you know, my earnings are low because of my job, and I'm working regularly in different runs since disappearing Housing Connect.
2:27:28
Okay, I was working with two patients in the home health agency, and I was working for more than fifty hours per week in order to be able to afford things in order for me to achieve the income that they were requesting for me to have in order to have the apartment.
2:27:47
This is not really to be accessible for somebody.
2:27:51
This is not right for people that have a low income like me.
2:27:55
We are working very hard for a better future.
2:28:03
So we deserve to have a deserved housing for people like us and also for our families.
2:28:10
And saying thanks to GAP and thanks to UNHP that they are helping me with a complex process, and these processes are very demanding for all the people who are applying.
2:28:25
My monthly rent, or the apartment I have now is $12.45 dollars And the days like today, I came here to testify, and I'm not getting paid for the day or today only for me to come in to testify.
2:28:46
In December of the year two thousand and three, after six years, I was able to obtain my first apartment, and I'm here to be the voice for the ones who are going through the same process I went through, and the ones who need a house like the day of today, and who wanted to request help with these entities.
2:29:16
And the entities that are present today, so they need to improve the process so we can have more affordable homes and affordable apartments here in New York City.
2:29:27
Especially for people who have a low income like me, and who deserve to live in a good home and in a decent home.
2:29:39
Before attending my apartment, before getting this apartment, I suffered from a lot of anxiety.
2:29:49
And I was paying attention every day to receive an email message from Housing Connect.
2:29:57
And I obtained two opportunities to do selection interviews, but I was very disappointed and I was very discouraged.
2:30:06
It's just an explanation.
2:30:18
Okay, okay.
2:30:19
I went to two interviews, and the first one I had was a building that was divided in three parts.
2:30:29
Ms.
2:30:29
Sanchez, basically what she tried to explain, those apartment buildings are divided in three different apartment buildings, similar to co op, but for people with low income.
2:30:39
Uh-huh.
2:30:40
Okay, And the building was right next to the other.
2:30:45
The first building I had to put together many of the requirements that they were asking for me, many of the documents that they were putting together, and I was only denied because of my earnings.
2:31:00
At the moment of the interview, I only had $100 missing.
2:31:05
So, what I tried to say was only $100 less than the requirements that they were asking for, and I was only denied the apartment only because of this.
2:31:14
Okay.
2:31:20
They were saying that I needed to demonstrate that we'll be able to pay the monthly rent, and this apartment was just $550 So basically, because it was only $100 less than the requirements, I was denied the apartment.
2:31:37
And I paying $700 to rent just a small bedroom in one of the apartments for several years and with all the proofs of the place.
2:31:51
Okay, when I finished the third building of the same project, they communicated with me and they wanted to know I was still interested in obtaining this apartment, and also they wanted they also wanted to know there were also some apartments that were available in that area, and also in my income will qualify for those apartments.
2:32:17
Okay.
2:32:25
This was one of the same apartments or the three apartments I mentioned before.
2:32:29
So quickly, I put all the documents together.
2:32:32
I asked my employer to give me a free day so I can go to the van, and I called my employer to explain everything to him, right?
2:32:41
I was also looking for my income tax returns, and I was also looking for the pay stubs.
2:32:50
But again, when they review everything, the answer was again the same.
2:32:56
I didn't qualify because I didn't live in the in the kind of priority community.
2:33:04
Miss Sanchez, what she means to say is the place where they're supposed to have the Yes.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
2:33:09
I understand.
UNKNOWN
2:33:10
Yes.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
2:33:11
But we need to move on if you can just try
UNKNOWN
2:33:14
to summarize a little we almost missed.
2:33:15
My apologies.
2:33:16
The letter is very long, Ms.
2:33:17
Sanchez.
2:33:18
It's where the community is located.
2:33:20
They didn't have priority, that location, okay?
2:33:22
I was very surprised about the situation because this building was located right next to the other building.
2:33:31
I feel very frustrated.
2:33:33
I feel very depressed, and I was confused at the same time.
2:33:37
And how it's supposed to be that they are looking at your profile, right?
2:33:42
And they're looking at the profile of every applicant, and they're just denying you like that.
2:33:48
You know, they know where you live.
2:33:50
They already know your year earnings and your monthly earnings.
2:33:54
And after that, they wanted to verify your application request, and after that, they were just rejecting you on purpose, only to be able to prove that those digital data was not available.
2:34:09
So this made me question myself about the clarity of this housing process.
2:34:22
Okay.
2:34:26
Very low percentage of housing lotteries require an income of less than $40,000 U.
2:34:34
S.
2:34:36
Processes are very long.
2:34:38
They are not clear.
2:34:39
And something very important, they have a lot of bureaucracy.
2:34:45
And they only give you ten days to put all these documents together and to handle these documents to them.
2:34:54
When in the majority of the offices, they take a long time to surrender these documents, they're only giving you ten days there.
2:35:05
Sonos then also require you to manage technology very well, because you have to submit the application to a webpage, right?
2:35:16
You have to, I would love all these documents to the portal of Housing Connect, and also to send many email messages in order to qualify for this.
2:35:26
And sometimes it's very difficult because they don't give you the facility for people who don't know how to use this technology well.
2:35:34
Lastly, where I live right now, not perfect, it's a misplaced, and there are many apartment units that are rented for people who have subsidies.
2:35:48
Like, subsidy means like housing vouchers.
2:35:51
And some of these people who have these housing vouchers are people who are mentally ill, people with mental problems.
2:35:57
So, it's very this may for you be in difficult ways to live in these buildings because of the kind of people who are living in these buildings, and because there's a lot of insecurity, and also it's a big mess inside of these buildings.
2:36:13
We need a system of housing that makes the owner for the name that they're offering, right?
2:36:20
We need like a program that will make the New Yorkers to connect each other, especially the ones who are very vulnerable, right?
2:36:29
And the people who have options to highlight real housings, not only temporary housing, but permanent housings, and also there's accessibles to people on New York who have low income.
2:36:43
Because on the contrary, the people with low income will have so many problems, especially in places like The Bronx.
2:36:50
And we will live without any hope, and we will not be able to live in a place with dignity or a deserved place.
2:37:00
Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to share my story and to be able to talk about the big necessity and the big need that we had to simplify this housing process.