Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa ordered HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to turn over all of the Saratoga Housing Authority’s financial and travel records, legal and consulting bills, email correspondences and more.
This move comes a day after the Saratoga Housing Authority Board of Directors monthly meeting in which SSHA Board Chairman Dennis Brunelle voiced concerns over the stress all this negativity was causing his embattled SSHA Director Ed Spychalski. As this video shows.
Well between the stress this underpaid public servant at $151,000 a year is under along with the morale problems at the suggestion that cops and fireman be drug tested is causing, it’s just a bad time to work for the government.
Seriously the US Senator is no stranger to the corruption at Housing Authorities. He is also demanding a full explanation for why the Chelsea Housing Authority outside of Boston MA permits its managers to live in public housing projects almost rent-free when there aren’t enough subsidized apartments for the city’s low income residents.
The Chelsea Housing Authority is also ranked in the high nineties by HUD just like the Saratoga Housing Authority.
U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) in demanding full explanations about policies at the Chelsea Housing Authority said
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development said that they are committed to taking action, and yet the financial statements released in December 2010 ranked Chelsea as a ‘High Performer’ for ten years straight based on HUD’s annual comprehensive review. If HUD has been ranking the Chelsea Housing Authority in the 90th percentile for the past ten years, after reviewing their financial and management operations, then something is clearly wrong with HUD’s oversight policy.
I am deeply disturbed and will continue to hold bad actors in the system accountable,” Brown told the Chelsea Record.
I fully expect to see Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa in Saratoga in the very near future. I hope Spychalski and the Saratoga Springs Police don't serve him with a no tresspass notice.
8 comments:
WOW What a month
SSFD,SSPD,DPW,SSHA,HUD,all these abreviations and politics make me want to smoke a big ole crackrock
TGIF
John,
I think you need to remind readers that many people continue to post comments on stories that have been replaced by new stories. Some of the most insightful comments come near the end of discussions about a given topic.
Yes I'm sorry but this has been an incredible week.Please don't overlook the previous stories.
Dennis saying Ed has PTSD is a slap in the face to those who really suffer from it. You know who gets PTSD? Soldiers who put their life on the line for this country, rape victims, domestic abuse victims, people who've been traumatic car accidents.... You don't get PTSD from people coming forward letting the world know how you bully people. You know who else might have PTSD..Ed's victims. Constantly having anxiety,wondering what Ed will do to them next. When I lived there, I had anxiety every day because of him. He can dish it, but can't take it.
My goodness!!! You are really churning out these stories!!! Great job, seriously.
I live in the Terraces and I always live in fear. Not because of the stereotypical "public housing = higher crime" but because of the heavy handed tactics used by Ed to control people. I feel very safe in my apartment and in this neighborhood -- my anxiety skyrockets when I have to go to Stonequist to pay my rent, or when I get something unexpected from the housing authority in the mail, or when they distribute notices. I try to keep a low profile to avoid contact with anyone at the office and I don't ask for anything to be fixed unless it's an actual emergency.
I know people here who have broken refrigerators that either freeze everything or don't keep anything cold enough to be safely eaten, but they have stopped complaining because they're tired of being told there's no money in the budget. I know people whose stoves have only one working burner and whose ovens have caught fire due to electrical issues but they too keep their mouths shut because we all need a place to live and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves.
Dennis should be ashamed of himself for being concerned about Ed's stress level. Where's his concern for the people who live here? Many of us already have histories of being abused by people in positions of authority, and Dennis is worried about Ed???
hey jt how cum saratogians news is like a day later than yours hehehehe
6:35pm, I know exactly what you're going through. When we moved into the Terrace,we had to clean the apartment,it was left dirty. After moving in we noticed one of the shelves in the freezer was busted, they didn't have an extra shelf piece but "couldn't afford" to buy a new one, so we had to use duct tape. When the maintenance man was there, I told him I didn't want to be blamed for it when we moved out and have it taken from our security deposit especially because we plan on leaving in better condition that we got it (and we did!). He then said "No one ever gets their security back". My mother had to sue to get hers back. I think the only reason we got ours back was because they knew we'd sue.
By NY state Law, if you do not receive your deposit back or a letter detailing how much of your deposit was taken and for what, within a reasonable amount of time (60-90 days), then you are entitled to your deposit back no matter how you left your apartment. Public housing is not exempt from this law. After the 90 days, you then can take the case to court and you may sue for 2 times the amount of your deposit.
If you're living under SSHA, it's best to know your rights: http://www.ag.ny.gov/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/tenants_rights_guide.pdf
Read the "Harassment" section carefully, from my own experience (as well as things I heard from other tenants), this seems to be the section that Ed has been violating.
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