NEW YORK -- It started with an unexpected call last week from Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump associate who oversees federal housing programs in New York.Patton told a leader of a tenants' group at the New York City Housing Authority, the nation's largest, that she was interested in speaking with
NEW YORK — It started with an unexpected call last week from Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump associate who oversees federal housing programs in New York.
The episode represents another stark example of how President Donald Trump has deployed government resources to further his political ambitions. Patton is head of the New York office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and under the Hatch Act is barred from using her government position to engage in political activities.
In the video, the tenants raised concerns about conditions in the housing authority’s buildings, praised Trump’s record on public housing and attacked de Blasio’s. Perez, one of the tenants, said in an interview Friday afternoon that she stood by her criticism of the authority but was furious about being tricked into appearing in a video shown at the RNC.
During the pandemic, Perez and Quiñones have helped to provide hundreds of thousands of meals to residents who would not have had food otherwise. One of the vendors who provided the food, a farming company owned by Muslims, called an associate of Perez on Friday and asked why she appeared in a video supporting Trump, Perez said.
In a separate interview, Quiñones said she talked to Patton on Friday afternoon and was comfortable with how she was being portrayed by the Times. She said she was disappointed that her words had been twisted to make it seem as if she were a Trump supporter. Patton plays an important role in oversight of the New York City Housing Authority, which includes more than 300 properties, some with thousands of units. They have long been a lifeline for working-class tenants and have lengthy waiting lists for apartments.In 2019, de Blasio agreed to accept a powerful monitor for the housing authority after a federal investigation documented squalid living conditions and mismanagement.
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