Ja Rule headlines City Hall rally on NYCHA crisis

Hip-hop superstar Ja Rule stayed true to his word and joined NYCHA residents and their leaders, along with concerned City Council members, to demand equal treatment on humanitarian issues like heat, hot water, and safe living conditions.

Ja Rule learned firsthand about the no heat ordeals faced by hundreds of thousands of NYCHA residents at our Street Soldiers NYCHA Town Hall. He was so moved by the suffering of the families who shared their personal stories he made a pledge that night: to lead a rally to City Hall.

The residents who rallied on the steps of City Hall say that for too long, their issues and needs have been ignored.

For weeks on Fox 5 News and Street Soldiers, we reported on the unbearable conditions faced by residents during the coldest weather in decades. City Council members Ritchie Torres and Alicka Ampry-Samuel shined a light on the ongoing problems in public housing that need to be addressed and what they called "failed leadership" and "business as usual."

"We appreciate anyone with a platform bringing attention to the critical funding issues NYCHA faces," NYCHA said in a statement. "We hope today’s rally will highlight the catastrophic cuts proposed by the Trump administration and the need to support public housing as a vital resource."

Ja Rule made time to talk with the residents who came out after issuing his call to action. He said that the mayor and governor should be ashamed of themselves that New Yorkers are living in what he called third-world conditions.

Rally organizers say that this is just the beginning of a series of actions to draw attention to conditions that can no longer be tolerated. Ja Rule has pledged to be with them the entire way.