Tony Pasquale allowed his term to lapse last week on the nine-person volunteer board that oversees the 1,353 federally-subsidized housing units in the southwest corner of town. Reached in his office in Manhattan Wednesday, Pasquale said that he had a new job with additional responsibilities and that he simply did not have the time to continue on the board.But Pasquale's exit comes at an interesting time, considering that the agency's paid executive director, Troy Washington, whom Pasquale's board promoted to that position two years ago, may be on the way out as well.
Rumors swirling around town last week suggested that there is a move afoot to remove Washington at the HHA board's next meeting on August 23, although board members said that no decision has been made. They also do not have a successor in place.
Pasquale and Washington both came to the agency at a time when it was recovering from scandals and financial problems. Both helped lead it out of "troubled status," a federal designation. But Washington ruffled feathers in a new way when residents continually complained that he was inaccessible.
Changes
Pasquale and Washington are leaving after playing a role in stimulating long overdue changes at the agency including an increased investment in security, an upgrade to buildings and grounds, the creation of a tenants' advisory board and renovations in roofs and elevators.
But tenant leaders at the HHA have expressed frustrations with Washington over the past six months. Last week, rumors circulated that he was going to be asked to leave and that the remaining time on his contract would be bought out.
The change in composition of the board overseeing Washington may have something to do with this. In the last year, City Council President Nellie Moyeno and HHA residents Arlette Braxton and Gene Rodriguez were appointed to take the place of board members who did not live in or near the projects.
"Previously members of the board, who have since left, were kind of blind to this guy," said a person familiar with the situation at the HHA. "Mr. Washington would say that the sky is green and they would say, 'Oh, that's cool.' But the new board members who have come in - people are going to them and telling them about what's really going on. At this point they have caught on to Mr. Washington and the problems that he creates."
Mayor Anthony Russo, who does not oversee the HHA but follows its activities, confirmed Wednesday that the board was considering releasing Washington, but said that he was unaware of any final decisions on the matter.
"Whether we hire an assistant director to work with the tenants, or a new director, still has to be determined," Russo said.
Russo added, "This is not a political thing. Its something we have been hearing over and over again from the residents. They are bringing names of people they want to do the job to us."
Of Washington, Russo said, "I think that the problems relate not so much to his handling of the physical structures there, but to his dialogue with the residents. That seems to have become an issue. I know that the residents would like to have a more people-oriented director."
Washington did not return calls seeking comment.
Members of the Board of Commissioners danced around the topic when asked, suggesting that there had been discussions but no conclusions.
"At this time I think that it would be inappropriate to say anything about that," said Commissioner Moyeno last week. "I'd rather wait until after our next meeting [on August 23]."
Changing political climate
Discontent with Washington boiled over into the public arena earlier this year after the director and the board attempted to make changes to the lease agreements. Although the changes were approved by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development - which oversees the agency - and included a number of non-controversial measures, such as expulsion for convicted drug users and pushers, they also included provisions like stiffer penalties for late rent and charges for extra appliances.
The political climate at the HHA also was changing. Last year's election of 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, a candidate who opposed Mayor Anthony Russo and criticized the housing board, spurred more residents to complain about conditions at the projects.
In April, Russo held a town meeting with HHA residents. Later that month, he announced that many of the controversial changes Washington and the board had proposed to the lease would be dropped and that the beleaguered agency would soon hire an assistant executive director to help facilitate communication with the residents. But nobody has been hired to fill the position yet.
Since the April press conference, Washington has held a number of meetings with the residents about the new lease. But he seems to have made little headway.
"If he left, that would be news as good as hearing that they had a cure for the common cold - that's how much I think it is needed," said Lynda Walker, the president of the tenants' advisory board who has clashed with the mayor over HHA issues. "Frankly, I feel that Mr. Washington has no compassion. He has never shown any sort of compassion for the residents of the housing authority or even the employees - anybody really. There have been hundreds and hundreds of complaints against him. It's time for him to go."
Councilman-at-Large Tony Soares said Washington had allowed the HHA to be political by allowing HHA-related press conferences to be held in Mayor Russo's office. He also said there were problems with renovations to the buildings.
"[Washington] never came to Hoboken with any housing authority experience," Soares said. "He was a comptroller. He was probably a good comptroller, but he was not a housing authority manager."
Some support
Although he has some enemies, Washington has some support. Pasquale said that he had "no complaints" about the executive director. And Arlette Braxton, a member of the board who was once an outspoken critic of Washington, reversed course recently by publicly saying she had been wrong to criticize him.
But the rumors of Washington's potential dismissal persist, and it appears that Ramos has capitalized on it.
"Congratulations!" read a flyer that Ramos circulated in the projects last week. "Word in the neighborhood is that Executive Director E. Troy Washington has been asked to resign. It has been an extremely difficult fight but our voices have finally been heard. ...If it wasn't for your efforts, Mayor Russo would have kept supporting Mr. Washington for who knows how long!"
Who's political now?
The flyer also thanks various Ramos allies who oppose Mayor Russo, including councilmen David Roberts and Tony Soares and State Sen. Bernard Kenny.
Russo complained last week that the flyer makes the final decision on Washington political, despite the fact that Ramos and his allies had said HHA issues should not be political.
"Anything that was done to improve the HHA was done as a result of my administration," Russo said. "This is part and parcel of their politicism. They call me politically aggressive, but this is over the top."
Moyeno agreed. She also complained about the Spanish version of the flyer.
"I don't know who did the translation for [Ramos]," she said, "but it he is going to submit something in the future, I would urge him to seek the advice of an expert. The grammar is very poor."
Look far, or near?
Some would like to see a Hoboken native at the helm of the Housing Authority if Troy Washington is moved out. Washington, who lives in Newark, had only been to the mile-square city a few times before he took a job with the HHA three years ago. Two officials said last week that maybe it takes an old-timer to understand the HHA's needs.
"It doesn't always work to bring someone in from the outside," said School Board President David Anthony, who along with HHA Commissioner Nellie Moyeno launched "The Circle of Life" - a new organization designed to improve life at the HHA - this year. "Here is a guy brought in from the outside but he is having a difficult time connecting with the board and the people who live in the projects. I am always a believer that if you have the talent, you hire someone from within."
But is Washington's relationship with the tenants proof that a lifelong Hobokenite is always the best bet? The executive director who left the HHA before it entered troubled status was a long-time Hobokenite, as was one of the commissioners who was arrested for official misconduct.
Mayor Russo's thoughts on the subject echoed Anthony's. "National searches do nothing for local residents," said the mayor. "These people [who are brought in as a result of them] don't relate well."
Critics of the mayor disagree. For years, they have charged that the mayor and his allies only see the HHA as a source of votes. Someone politically-connected who was hired to oversee the agency may be more likely to bend to political pressure in town, they say.
"Even this effort to get rid of Mr. Washington is just being done with an eye on the next elections," said tenant activist Lynda Walker. "We have to remember who brought us Mr. Washington in the first place and then who took so long to let him go."
"What I want," said 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, "is a national search for the best-qualified person to do the job. If they want to hire someone political with housing experience, maybe I'll lay off a little. If they hire someone with no housing experience ... we're going to try to chase him out of town as well. The people deserve better. This is ridiculous already. I'm fed up, and the people are fed up. If they hire someone who is not qualified, we will fight tooth and nail again."
Post a Comment