Grace Meng: “This amendment would require HUD to publish model guidelines for minimum heating requirements for public housing units.…”

“This amendment would require HUD to publish model guidelines for minimum heating requirements for public housing units. Unfortunately, Mr. Chair, some public housing agencies across this country have struggled with the fundamental task of providing adequate housing and heating to low-income residents. Less than 2 months ago, the New York Daily News and Reuters published a series of articles about tenants at the Frederick Douglass Houses in New York City, complaining that they were without heat for several frigid evenings in a row. In response to these complaints, New York City public advocate Letitia James and Legal Services New York City filed a lawsuit on behalf of the tenants, and in their filing they quote a November 25 email from Robert Knapp, head of the New York City Housing Authority's heating management services unit, stating: NYCHA official policy . . . is heat shut off between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. when the outside temperatures are above 20 degrees. When the outside temperature falls below 20 degrees, heat is given through the night. Frankly, this is appalling. Many Democratic Representatives from New York City agreed with me, and that is why we submitted a letter, led by my good friends and colleagues, Representatives Engel and Rangel, to the head of NYCHA, urging it to completely abandon the current heating policy.…”