Harlem tenants facing eviction after city's rental assistant program did not make payments
NEW YORK -- Some tenants at a Harlem apartment building are facing eviction after getting notices saying they're months, if not years, behind on rent.
But they thought it was being paid by the city's rental assistance program.
"This is the letter I received regarding taking me to court," said Jasna Willie. "'You're landlord is suing you for nonpayment of rent.'"
Willie was living in a homeless shelter with her daughter until a city program helped her move into a apartment on the 2300 block of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard two years ago.
Willie, 27, was told her rent would be subsidized. Everything seemed fine until she got an eviction notice.
"I got a notice from someone who knocked on my door saying that I have a balance of $7,000 plus that I have to owe. I went to HRA and they told me that I don't owe anything," said Willie.
HRA is the rental assistance program that Willie thought would pay approximately $1,900 a month in rent, alongside a similar program called CityFHEPS, directly to her landlord.
Willie found out those payments were not made for months, and she's not alone.
"All I know is people were getting letters. I got a letter, everybody in this building got a letter stating that they owe thousands of dollars of rent," said Keith Harmon.
CBS2 reached out to the Department of Social Services, which provides rental assistance to low-income families, to find out what was going on. CityFHEPS said there's a yearly recertification process that each tenant must complete to confirm rental assistance eligibility. Otherwise, payments could be missed.
Andrew Lieb, a landlord/tenant attorney, said the department is overwhelmed.
"They got too much going on, they're understaffed. I think it says something like a 17.3 percent job vacancy, or something like that. It's very hard to hire people these days," said Lieb.
Willie said she's working with Legal Aid, which provides free legal assistance to low-income people, to ensure she and her daughter don't lose their home.
CBS2 reached out to the landlord to ask why they would take the tenants to court instead of settling payments directly with the city. We are awaiting a response.
