By Jessica Easthope
Residents are calling for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to make good on a campaign promise.
Currently, when residents call or submit a repair ticket with NYCHA, it often goes unanswered for weeks, months, and in some cases years.
That’s when they turn to the Ombudsperson Call Center (OCC).
As an independent entity, the OCC puts pressure on NYCHA to get the work done.Some residents have taken matters into their own hands.
This is a daily routine for Leslie and Stanley Fields.
They go from building to building, door to door, knocking, ringing, and asking what is wrong.
“For them, we try to get names. We try to get numbers for people that can help them,” Leslie explained. “We try to ask them… basically, to communicate to management that these things are not okay.”
The Fields are two of the more than 3,000 residents who live in the Linden Houses in East New York.
Leslie has lived there since she was a teenager and has seen some of Linden’s darkest periods, including gun violence and robberies.
As a tenant leader with East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC), Leslie and Stanley walk the halls making tenants aware of their rights and resources — including the Ombudsperson Call Center, which holds NYCHA and private developers accountable for addressing mold, leaks, and moisture in apartments.
Tenants say the OCC has been the only effective way to get repairs done.
“OCC responds and then applies third party pressure to ensure that things are done right. They’re very effective in providing the oversight and the professionalism of following back up with the tenant to ensure that there’s customer satisfaction,” one resident said.
Talib Charriez, an organizer with East Brooklyn Congregations, noted that Mayor Mamdani’s administration has promised to expand the OCC — allowing for a wider variety of calls, more staff, and greater power to ensure timely repairs.
The OCC has already helped more than 33,000 NYCHA households and processed more than 21,000 complaints related to mold and leaks.
“Those that have utilized it… said that has been like a godsend. It’s been life changing,” Charriez said.
Father Ed Mason, pastor of Mary Mother of the Church and a NYCHA advocate, emphasized the human element.
“Living safely, securely, stably is a human right… It’s a matter of humanity,” he explained, “and if you don’t understand that, and if you don’t have the love… how can you love someone else? How can you care for someone else? It’s just loving your brother as you love yourself.”
Mayor Mamdani has vowed to invest $102 million into the OCC to broaden its scope, increase staffing, and improve oversight of NYCHA’s repair backlog.
As of early 2026, the average time to complete non-emergency repairs is 310 to 415 days, far exceeding NYCHA’s own target of 15 days.
NYCHA has hundreds of thousands of open work tickets at any given time.
Whether the expansion will happen remains to be seen. More details are expected in the next four to eight weeks as the fiscal year 2027 budget process continues.