Senior couple waits a year for kitchen repairs in NYCHA apartment

News 12's Katelynn Ulrich explains what NYCHA is doing about it.

Katelynn Ulrich

Nov 22, 2024, 11:48 AM

Updated 20 days ago

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After a year of waiting, repairs were finally made to the kitchen of a senior couple’s NYCHA apartment while cameras were rolling. The issue had left their kitchen and living room unusable, but workers arrived and completed part of the job just hours after News 12 Brooklyn began investigating.
“This is how she’s been living for a year,” said their son Jose Sierra Jr.
The couple says the problems began in October of last year when a leak destroyed their kitchen wall. Workers removed the cabinets but never returned to finish the repairs.
“So much time has elapsed, and no one has paid attention,” Sierra said. “If they have, nobody has done anything to fix it.”
José says he made regular trips to the tenant office with photos of the damage, pleading for action.
“I take the pictures and take it to the office,” he explained.
The couple filed a work order as recently as Sept. 17, but while News 12 was there, workers were making the repairs they waited a year for within a few hours.
A NYCHA spokesperson said they are working to complete the repairs but did not comment on why the couple waited so long for action.
NYCHA is encouraging tenants to use the MyNYCHA app to submit and track repair requests.