Documenting your requests for help

If your apartment is overrun by mold, call NYCHA’s Centralized Call Center at 718-707-7771 (you’ll find more NYCHA contact information here).

The reality, though, is that NYCHA is unlikely to clean up the mold quickly. You’ll have to systematically document how you’ve tried to get action. Here are some tips from Stephanie Rudolf, staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center, on your best strategy. Remember, we are not providing legal advice–only tips:

• Keep very careful notes in one place — in a notebook or on a computer.
• Take lots of photos.
• Call back often. If NYCHA says they will be back in touch, ask when you can expect to hear and who you should call if you don’t.

Every time you call NYCHA or they come to your apartment:

• Write down the date and the time of the contact.
• Get the name and title of the person.
• If you have an appointment for an inspection or a repair, be sure you are home.
• Put a sign on your door saying you are home and asking them to knock loudly.
• Ask when the work will be done.
• Find out if there’s anything you have to do to get ready for the repairs, such as moving furniture.