The city has put four crime-prone public housing sites in a new light as part of its efforts to ensure better safety for tenants.
The Ingersoll, Van Dyke, Tompkins and Brownsville residential sites have 1,802 new brighter, energy efficient lighting fixtures for the walkways, play areas and entrances.
Longtime residents and elected officials said the $19.1 million upgrades have immediately made a difference in their communities.
“Before we had these lights, it was dark and you had to really focus your eyes when walking because everybody looked like a shadow. A lot of seniors would not come out after 4 p.m.,” Lisa Kenner, of the Van Dyke Houses 1 resident association said in a statement.
The new lighting is part the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety or MAP, which aims to decrease crime at 15 New York City Housing Authority houses that had the most reported incidents in 2014. In addition to safety upgrades, the program provided job training to NYCHA tenants and improved access to public benefits.
NYCHA chair Shola Olatoye said the program has helped to reduce crime in the properties. Reported criminal incidents at Ingersoll, Van Dyke, Tompkins and Brownsville dropped 11 percent and shootings are down 42 percent since MAP began, according to the city.
