Siomara sends a text message to a new tool that the city created to serve and educate tenants with housing problems.
“I have to move because the people who rented me died in the pandemic. As one is not in the ‘lease’ they do not give one a chance … I am worried because you know, right now I am a ‘home attendant’, I am not working because the job is for January ”, said Siomara.
Siomara says she will have to look for new affordable options before January 12, the date her time in public housing ends; contacting 311 for help has not been optimal.
“We really need that, we need something faster, that they attend to us when one needs to be attended to, that they do not take so long for things,” added the woman.
The city invested 20 thousand dollars in the company ‘Justfix’ so that through texts they can answer questions from tenants with digital robots but also connect with resources.
“In the end, the tool not only teaches you what your rights are, but also connects you to the resources we have … I want people to communicate with us because we have resources available to them,” said Ricardo Campos, Commissioner of the Office of Support to the Tenant of the city.
At the moment the application works only in Upper Manhattan, but it is expected that during the next administration it will expand to the rest of the city.
According to Stephanie Rudolph, Deputy Director, ‘Justfix’, the service will also provide “information about repairs, the right to pass the apartment on to someone else … Rent controlled, also public housing and other types of affordable apartments in the city of New York”.
To access this service you have to send a text message to 855-610-2450 with the word home and then you will receive a message to start communication.
At the moment the application is available in Spanish and English to make it easier for immigrants like Rebecca to access it. Out of fear of deportation, the Upper Manhattan neighbor has not reported repairs that her landlord has not made.
“Wonderful for all the people who have that fear and can advise us.”
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