NYCHA residents lament apartment conditions

Just a few weeks ago, broken elevators at the Douglass Houses kept residents stranded in their lobby for hours. Now some residents are talking about how the physical and emotional stress of problems inside the apartments is taking a toll.

Building captain Darlene Murphy said she gets almost daily calls from her neighbors about major leaks or floods inside their apartments. And that's just for starters.

Jennifer Caban showed me the hole in a bathroom wall and leak that NYCHA workers patched up with cardboard and duct tape. This single working mom is doing her best against an everyday battle with leaks, mold, rats, and buckling, chipping paint. Jennifer said her otherwise healthy daughter was diagnosed with asthma. Adding to the problem, they can't open the windows because rats crawl in.

HUD regional administrator Lynne Patton is expected to stay with resident association president Carmine Quinones at the Douglass Houses this week.

She said HUD gives NYCHA $30 million a week in operating and capital funds. That is about half its $3 billion annual budget.

More than $1 billion comes from residents' rents.