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Schumer: Housing "Vultures" Hurt NYC

December 03, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Sen. Charles Schumer says developers took out risky loans to purchase dozens of affordable housing complexes across the city. He's asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate what h....

Day Laborers Squeezed as Construction Slows

November 25, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Here's a sign that the construction boom is slowing. The line of men waiting for a free warm meal on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens keeps getting longer. The men, nearly all of them Latino, say they are ....

Housing Authority Head Moves on

November 22, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The head of the New York City Housing Authority is leaving to take the helm of Samaritan Village, a substance abuse agency he worked for in the past. REPORTER: Tino Hernandez has been the authority'....

NYCHA Chairman Steps Down

November 21, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The head of the city's sprawling public housing system is leaving to take another job. Tino Hernandez served as the Housing Authority's chairman for seven years and will soon lead a substance abuse ....

NYC Cuts Funds to 21 Day Care Centers

November 20, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The city's Administration for Children's Services faces a $62 million deficit and it says it has no choice but to begin cutting subsidized child care slots. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports. REPORTER....

Group Criticizes Child Support Fee

November 14, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The Paterson administration is taking some heat from child advocates. They're offended by a new fee the state is charging when it helps single parents collect child support. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez ....

Job Report

November 13, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Advocates for low-income New Yorkers are bashing city programs aimed at getting welfare recipients into paying jobs, saying they don't work. A new report from the group "Community Voices Heard" says....

Maximum Sentence for Nixzaliz Santiago

November 13, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

A child abuse case that led to an overhaul of the city's child welfare system has come to a close. Nixzaliz Santiago, mother of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, was sentenced to up to 43 years in prison y....

Immigration Crackdown Leads to More Deportations in Metro Area

November 08, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Federal immigration officials say a crackdown on illegal immigrants is leading to more arrests and deportations in New York and New Jersey. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports. REPORTER: In New Jersey, U....

City to Close 18 Community Centers

November 07, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The cash-strapped New York City Housing Authority plans to transfer its social service programs to four city agencies. The first phase is supposed to save NYCHA roughly $20 million. WNYC's Cindy Rodr....

A Home for Homeless Teen Moms to Be?

October 31, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

According to Covenant House, from January to September more than 100 young moms with dozens of kids showed up asking for help, after city officials told them they were too young to access the shelter....

Woman Injured in Public Housing Elevator Fall

October 31, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The City Housing Authority has suspended an elevator maintenance team at an East Harlem Housing Complex. This, after a woman fell about 10 feet down an elevator shaft. Yolanda Joyce, 28, landed on ....

NYC to Overhaul Elevators in Public Housing

October 30, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The New York City Housing Authority plans to spend $107 million to replace more than 500 aging elevators. This comes in the wake of several accidents, including the death of a 5-year-old boy who fel....

Section 8 Status Keeps Thousands of Public Housing Apartments Accessible

October 29, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The New York City Housing Authority has begun to rent out 8,400 public housing apartments to tenants with Section 8 housing vouchers. The move to Section 8 status means federal funds will cover the ....

Brooklyn Mother Denies Killing Child

October 29, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

A Brooklyn mother accused of killing her 11-year-old daughter was arraigned inside a Brooklyn court room yesterday. Florencia Vasquez is facing second degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negl....

Mother Arraigned in Daughter's Death

October 28, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Florencia Vasquez faces murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges. Police say the 36-year-old gave a videotaped statement and admitted to striking the child. Her court appointe....

Brooklyn Mom Accused of Beating 11-year-old to Death

October 28, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Prosecutors say a Brooklyn woman will be arraigned today on charges of murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of her 11-year-old daughter. Thirty-six-year-old Florencia ....

The Problem of Chronic Absenteeism

October 21, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

Poor school districts fare far worse than more affluent ones. The Center for New York City Affairs authored the report and held a panel discussion on the issue. Principal Luis Torres from PS 55 in ....

City Diverts AIDS Outreach Money to Homeless Housing

October 16, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

The city has decided to end five contracts with nonprofits that provide more than $2 million in outreach services to homeless people with AIDS. The Department of Health has decided instead to use th....

Affordable Housing Slows Down

October 03, 2008

by Cindy Rodriguez

A local nonprofit says the credit crisis created a slow down in the number of subsidized apartments bought by developers and converted into market rate apartments. Each year the Community Service So....