Area public housing cited in critical report

A state auditor's report critical of the condition of state public housing includes pictures of units in disrepair at several developments in Boston's western suburbs.

Photos in the 72-page report issued by State Auditor Joseph DeNucci show shredded siding in Westborough, gaping holes in plaster ceilings in Wellesley, and rusted water pipes and severely cracked concrete steps and foundations in Watertown.

The report found that public housing units across the state are falling into disrepair after years of neglect and inadequate state funding.

``It's unacceptable," said DeNucci. ``The Department of Housing and Community Development has to do a better job in fulfilling its responsibility to make sure these vulnerable people -- the elderly, disabled, and poor -- have a decent and habitable place to live."

Department spokesman Phil Hailer said the close-up photographs of building faults in the report failed to capture the overall good condition of most public housing complexes.

``They're hardly falling down or dilapidated, but there are certain things that are in need of repair," Hailer said. ``The bottom line is that over 70 percent of the conditions cited in the report were already under study at DHCD or had actual grants for repair."

The ripped siding in Westborough pictured in the report had been fixed as of last week. The tenant, Richard Kataza , said he has been satisfied by the level of upkeep on the two-story apartment since he moved in with his five children 1 1/2 years ago. He had to wait more than a week to get his stove fixed last year, he said, but he chalked that up to the fact that it broke during the Christmas holiday.

``I can say they are trying their best," Kataza said. ``I'd say it's maintained pretty well."

Officials from the housing authorities mentioned in the audit did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

In Massachusetts, families earning less than 80 percent of the state median household income of about $53,000 are eligible to get their names on waiting lists for public housing. Rents are based on the family's ability to pay but by law cannot exceed 32 percent of the household income , Hailer said. State-funded local housing authorities operate nearly 50,000 units statewide.

State auditors spent six months in the field visiting state-funded developments in 66 cities and towns, including Needham, Watertown, Wellesley, and Westborough. Tens of thousands of low-income families around the state are waiting for public housing, while some units cannot be occupied because they need repairs.

``What really bothers me is you have this tremendous waiting list and a thousand vacant units statewide waiting for repairs because they're in no shape to be lived in," DeNucci said.

That's the case in Wellesley, where nearly a quarter of the town's 235 public housing units sat vacant, most for six months or more, for lack of maintenance, according to the report.

``Because the funding has not yet been made available from the state, those units are empty," state Representative Alice Hanlon Peisch said. ``We have a shortage of units, but these are offline because the funding is not there."

The Wellesley Democrat said the Legislature's Housing Committee, of which she is a member, came to conclusions similar to DeNucci's in a report it issued last summer.

``If you drive by the elderly housing on Washington Street next to the Wellesley Police Station, there are tarps on the roofs because the roofs are leaking," she said. ``They've sought emergency funding for repairs, but it seems to me a better management strategy would be to keep maintenance up so it doesn't become an emergency."

Across the Globe West coverage area, about 6,460 people were on waiting lists to get into public housing at last count, according to the auditor's report. The largest waiting lists were in Framingham (3,671 people), Waltham (1,718), and Milford (416).

Meanwhile, 159 area public housing units sat vacant for at least two months -- some for more than six months -- for lack of maintenance, according to town-by-town figures in the report.

Peisch attributed the deteriorating condition of public housing in the area to the Romney administration's unwillingness to borrow money for repairs up to the amount authorized by the Legislature, and to an insufficient budget for the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

``They need to do a better job when they submit their budget requests to the Legislature of determining what the actual need is, not just using a zero percent increase, which is what they've been doing for the past couple of years," she said.

Hailer said Massachusetts is one of only two states that subsidize public housing . The other is New York. The Bay State spends roughly $100 million a year on capital improvements and operating subsidies for local housing authorities, while most states spend nothing, relying intead on federal public housing, he said.

Hailer also said the agency recently announced a 7 percent increase in operating budgets for local housing authorities.

``I think we're all in lockstep with the Legislature that there needed to be an increase in funding," he said.

Meanwhile, DeNucci warned that the sorry state of many public housing projects may pose a real safety hazard for residents.

``There are all kinds of problems with foundations and sidewalks and stairs that are cracked," he said. ``There's mold and moisture damage to interior walls and damage caused by rodent and insect infestation."