Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

By Christopher Harper

The Democrats’ pledge that they care about poor people should be forever put to rest after two fires left 29 people, including 17 kids, dead over the past week.

The fires in “affordable” housing in Philadelphia and New York should make everyone realize the lies told in Democrat-controlled cities.

The fire in Philadelphia happened in a building owned and run by the city’s Housing Authority. The two-unit row house in a generally gentrified section of Philadelphia had 26 people living in a space meant for half that many. 

At least four smoke detectors in the building were not working, and there were no fire escapes on the upper floors. 

Will Bunch, a leftist writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, asked some pertinent questions.

“If Philadelphia doesn’t change laws and find the dollars to change the culture around housing safety, then this city is even more dysfunctional than we thought. We almost never talk about how 40,000 people sit on a waiting list for public housing that was finally shut down for most applicants eight years ago, or about how PHA only accommodates about 12% of the estimated demand for affordable housing, or how the agency needs an estimated $1 billion to fix the units it does have. No wonder the plight of families like the two cramped inside that Fairmount row house remains largely invisible.” 

New York had its own wake-up call days after the Philadelphia fire when 19 people died there. Public records showed the building had multiple open violations for mouse and roach infestations, peeling lead paint, and water leaks. One open complaint with the city Housing Preservation and Development Department referenced defective fire retardant material in a first-floor ceiling.

“It was at a building that was built under federal guidelines way back when, so it’s not up to New York City fire codes,” said Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association union.

Democrats have controlled Philadelphia and New York for most of the past 50 years, promising the poor that life would get better. 

Life hasn’t been better, and it’s never going to get better unless people hold Democrats accountable for their fake promises and government makes buildings safe for people who live in them.