In response to the death of Akai Gurley, who was mistakenly shot by NYPD officer Peter Liang in a dark stairwell, the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) is increasing its maintenance hours to make sure critical repairs are more swiftly addressed. Starting in April, the Authority will operate from 6am to 8pm on split shifts, and bulk up its weekend skeleton crew.
The New York Daily News notes that maintenance workers clock out at 4pm on weekdays, and a question remains whether the man would still be alive if the bulb had been replaced sooner. Basic repairs—such as busted doors, broken smoke detectors and blown lights—usually have to wait until the next day to be replaced.
If it goes according to plan, the expanded hours will begin in 12 developments and expand to all 328 NYCHA properties by 2017. [NYDN]
