Fulton Houses tenant waits years for repairs

A family of eight living in a NYCHA building says their apartment is falling apart.

When it rains, water pours into the kitchen from the ceiling. Even the bathroom ceiling is falling apart.

“It’s like a nightmare,” Liliana Valenta, a resident of the Fulton Houses NYCHA complex in Chelsea, said. “[There] are too many issues.”

There are several ticket orders to fix problems in Valenta’s unit that date back years.

“They don’t listen,” she said.

Along with working around the needed repairs, Valenta’s also the caretaker for her mother, who had a stroke, and son Julio Galay, who’s paralyzed after being shot. The two are homebound.

“I’m not really able to get into my bathroom right now with my wheelchair just because the bathroom is [really] small,” Galay said.

The family says the need to convert the bathroom to bring it into ADA compliance is another headache for them.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” Dr. Antoinette Jennings said.

Jennings works as the Victim Support Director of Living Redemption Community Development Corporation, an organization helping victims of violent crimes.

“We were disgusted to be honest, because no one, even if he was not paralyzed, should be living like that,” Jennings said.

NY1 reached out to NYCHA about the conditions in the apartment.

In a statement a spokesperson says, in part, “in the face of decades of federal disinvestment, NYCHA staff continue working to address the mounting repair needs of its properties, including Fulton Houses, which alone has a capital need of $445 million.”

After NY1 reached out to NYCHA, a call came in from a representative.

A supervisor is scheduled to assess the needed repairs on Monday.

Though after years of issues, Valenta said she thinks nothing will change.