Chair urges action for Wallace Avenue fire victims as city rolls out 'Back Home Unit'

The Housing and Land Use Committee met April 16 and pressed for concrete rehousing steps for tenants displaced by the Wallace/Ross Avenue fire. Chair Richard Reynoso said the committee sent letters to elected officials and that he will "put this thing on the agenda every single month until we get some sort of clarity on next steps." He asked committee members to press elected representatives at the full board meeting next Thursday to record their plans.

The administration has launched a new Back Home Unit to help tenants displaced by fires or orders rendering buildings unsafe. Chair Reynoso read the unit's description to the committee, saying it can "review the situation, connect you with available resources and next steps" and provided a phone number for intake: 212-389-6670.

Residents and tenant advocates described continuing obstacles finding permanent housing after a fire. One resident, Kaye, said she has heard that "some of those families are still displaced" — in some cases for years — and described how frequent shelter moves harm employment and children's school continuity. Committee members and commenters also described cases in which landlords stopped returning calls and tenants saw conflicting rental listings and management responses.

Several speakers raised inspection and rehousing delays. Christina Stevens said she submitted many tenant applications and encountered nonresponsive managers; another commenter described repeated, inconsistent inspections that delayed approvals for shelter-based placements. The committee agreed to distribute tenant resource guides and to try the Back Home Unit while pursuing options to allocate some HPD-funded or HPD-financed units for displaced families.

Chair Reynoso said the committee will invite the Department of Homeless Services and HPD to the May meeting to discuss inspection timelines and rehousing processes and will bring the letters and any recommended action to the full board next Thursday for consideration. No vote on a policy was taken at the April 16 meeting.