A lot has happened since the last time I wrote about this topic. Importantly, HRA went and approved my CityFHEPS application and even sent me $$ for furniture
Per the HRA app they’ve even made payments to the apartment folks, and my first rent contribution is due on 12/01/25. HRA is for real this time, folks.😳 Did the incoming Mayor Mamdani folks get in there and clean house? Hmm. All I know is they have been very “well behaved” since the election😂
The HRA app shows that the money to the apartment was sent right around 11/08/25 so on my day off (Wednesday 11/12) I swung by the apartment to see if I could get the keys so I can, you know, start moving stuff into the apartment.
The apartment managers told me they have NOT yet “received the checks”. Apparently the caseworker is supposed to bring the checks to the apartment folks. That part I didn’t know, but apparently it hasn’t been done—for whatever reason🙄
Anyway, on the bright side, my electricity setup (public grid) was scheduled for today (Friday 11/14/25). So there’s a very good chance that when I stopped by the apartment on Wednesday, the power wasn’t on yet.🤷♀️Could that be the REAL reason they didn’t give me the keys—saving me from walking into darkness?😂 Hmm, could be. 🤔
And no, I didn’t act a fool with the apartment folks—I know that’s what you’re thinking.😂Its fait accompli in many ways, so there’s no need for that. I should be moving out any day now. You notice I’ve also toned down on the constant bitchin’ about HRA on Twitter. I mean it, they’ve been super good lately.
I’ll keep you posted on when I get the keys. Stay tuned.
Wednesday on my day off, went to Brooklyn early in the morning (left at 7am) to go take care of some business—something that will come in handy if and when we finally move into the new apartment.
I got back home at about 12pm, so I decided to get some quiet rest before the kids came back from school. It was my intention to call HRA and harass them as to why CityFHEPS application had not been processed yet, but I was kinda tired after that commute to Brooklyn, so I decided to take a nap instead. It was supposed to a one-hour power nap, but I ended up waking up at 3 pm—my old a$$😂
I left at about 4pm to go get some fresh air and call HRA while I was out there. I even thought about visiting the local HRA office to ask about CityFHEPS. For some reason, however, something held me back on this Wednesday. I ended up not calling or visiting the local HRA office.
I got back home at about 8:30 pm and when I checked my HRA app, BAM, there it was. A notice that my CityFHEPS application had been approved, and on the notice letter, a breakdown of how things are going to play out.😳Basically the city will pay my November rent, and I start to pay my portion of the rent on 12/01—basically a done deal, or so I think.
So God-willing we should be in the apartment before 12/01. There is some $$ for furniture that I’m supposed to get before my move but I’m not sure when that will come in. It typically comes BEFORE somebody moves out, but remember, you’re dealing with a targeted individual here so HRA may “forger” to send the furniture money, or send it in July 2026.🙄😂
Anyway, we’ll see how things play out but at the moment, it looks like moving to the apartment is imminent—highly likely before December. 🙏🙏
As you might have read from my previous post, after a lot of pushing and prodding, the housing specialist at the facility I’m currently living in, finally sent in my CityFHEPS paperwork on 10/20/25. The latest lease I had signed was for 11/01/25–a one year lease. So hopefully we should be moving to the apartment anytime now.
The process typically takes 2-4 weeks but you know I’ve been manning the HRA app daily looking to see if any payment was made to the landlord. That is the telltale sign that it’s time to go. There should also be some money coming my way for furniture purchases, so you know I’m waiting on that.😂 Not exactly sure how much that’s going to be but for targeted individuals, always expect some theft.🤷♀️😂Moving is the main issue though, so I can’t get caught up with the side issues.
On Thursday 10/30/25, I took a rare day off to go take care of some important stuff in Brooklyn. Turned out to be an excellent gamble because it turned out to be a super stormy day. I was glad I took the day off. I also decided to call HRA to inquire about the status of my CityFHEPS processing—if money had been sent to the landlord. I had all the time, so I didn’t mind being on hold for 2+ hours. Finally someone answered the phone.
She told me my rent payment hadn’t been processed yet, but that she had left instructions for them to do it. She said it should be done in about two weeks. She gave me a reference number to call back with in case it is not done by 11/13/25.
Who are we kidding here, you know damn well I’m not waiting until 11/13 to call. I’ll be on HRA’s a$$ on Monday 11/03 on my next day off, and on my next day off.😂 That’s the only way we get out.🤷♀️
Wednesday was my day off so I figured I’d go talk directly to the apartment folk because God knows at this point I don’t believe anything the shelter people say—basically a CIA outpost as far as I’m concerned.😂 No wonder they’re NOT trying to get me to leave the shelter. They’ve got a TI where they want him.😂
Time is also running out. Remember, they are deliberately trying to delay things past the 10/20 cutoff so I can be stuck in the shelter way past the 11/01 move-in date. Trust me, THAT’s the plan.🤔
I spoke to the housing specialist’s boss before I left just to make sure I know exactly what it is they claim the apartment folk have not given them. The housing specialist took off as I was walking towards her boss’ office—always sus.😂🤦♀️
But anyway, I’m headed to the apartment folk to see what they have to say about this nonsense. Stay tuned.
So I got to the apartments at about 11:45am and explained to the security guy my urgent situation. Typically you need an appointment to see people in the leasing office, but…🤷♀️.
So anyway, he called the leasing office on 2nd floor and the lady I came to see—one that handles my paperwork, and I spoke to yesterday, is NOT in the office.🙄. There’s another lady in the office but she’s not immediately available, so the security guy asks me to wait in the lounge area as he tries to get in touch with her.
So after a few minutes, I finally get a chance to speak to the lady in the leasing office. She’s not really in the leasing department (she’s management😳), but she tries to help me anyway—good on her. I told her about the back and forth between the apartment lady and the shelter folk, but I really didn’t want to get her into all that—she seemed like a very good lady—one of those REAL Christians, not the Deep State type😂🙄
So I explain to her my situation, including the fact that time is of the essence—the 10/20 cutoff date. As I said earlier, the person who typically handles my stuff is not in the office today. The management lady tells me to take a seat while she makes a few phone calls.
After a few minutes she comes and breaks it down to me like this. She said the two ladies who would do the “lease countersigning”, are BOTH not in the office today. They don’t do it at the office where I’m at today, but they are both off today. Hey, I’m just telling you what she told me😂🤷♀️
So she added that the digital lease countersigning goes on on a queue system, and that I was THIRD on the list.😳 She also said that the digital countersigning ladies will be working tomorrow (10/16/25)—both of them, so I’m thinking my stuff should be done sometime tomorrow, and certainly by Friday—unless CIA outpost aka the shelter comes up with a NEW “problem”.🙄
Anyways, so that’s where we’re at. Hopefully the digital countersigning ladies handle their biz tomorrow and have the stuff submitted to the shelter folk so my CityFHEPS paperwork can by submitted either Thursday 10/16 or Friday 10/17.
But remember what we’re dealing with here. This is usually a VERY SIMPLE process for a regular CityFHEPS applicant. Nobody has to go through these extra loopholes, chasing landlords for countersignatures and what not. The ONLY REASON for all that extra stuff is….the program. Never forget that🤔
Monday was my day off so you guessed it, major drama on a targeted individual’s (TI’s) day off to rattle him, you know how the game goes😂
Anyway, Monday at around 2pm as I was getting ready to go out and enjoy my day off, I was handed several letters by the security lady downstairs. They were from HRA and looked important, so I went back upstairs to take a look at them
Remember, the entire housing voucher deal depends on an active cash/public assistance case. If your cash/public assistance is discontinued for any reason then you are out of there for housing purposes.
Luckily for me, my cash/public assistance (PA/CA) were still active per the letters BUT BUT BUT—you knew there was a BUT😂—they changed my monthly amount from $189 to….take a wild guess…yeah, a big fat $0. Lord have mercy😂🤦♀️
Apparently, you can have an active PA case even if you’re getting $0, so at least we survived that hurdle. As for SNAP benefits, I also got a massive slashing—from $756 to $416.🤦♀️ You know damn well that is NOT enough for two teenagers🙄. I challenged the SNAP, but I let them slide on the PA cut because that might complicate the CityFHEPS process.
Here’s the silver lining though. Although the cuts to PA and SNAP were a downer (obviously), the “good” news about it is that it kind of verified the housing specialist’s claim that she had requested a rebudgeting as part of my CityFHEPS. It kinda makes sense that the adjustments to my PA & SNAP came as a result of that rebudgeting, which is a good thing
As a matter of fact I sent an email to the housing specialist after receiving the letters from HRA and she emailed back saying we now need the documents from the landlord—new lease, etc. She didn’t answer my question directly, but it appears from her message that the next step now is to submit the documents from the landlord so rent payment can be approved etc. That was some good news.
Neeeds to say, I also ran this through my new best friend ChatGeep, and here’s what I got back
How long it will take for the landlord documents to be sent is a different question altogether😂🤦♀️
**Also, very interesting re HRA, the letters they sent me re PA & SNAP adjustments were mailed dated 09/27/25 & 09/30/25. I didn’t receive them until 10/06–ONE DAY before the deadline to challenge their decision😳. I found that very odd. Also the notice was NOT viewable on the HRA app🙄. The app clearly shows that there’s a new notice, but it would not let me view it🙄. You have to admit, that’s kinda super odd🤷♀️😂**
Anyway, I’m now waiting on the new phase—new lease signing and its submission for processing. Stay tuned.
To keep it 💯with you, this is how I really feel about this housing process. I’ll do what I need to do, but at this point, I’m beginning to entertain “plan B”🤷♀️
The blacklist is then used to deny people housing, student loans and other government benefits they are otherwise qualified for/entitled to. Total travesty🤦♀️
Of course they don’t say that directly, they use pretexts. But make no mistake about it. It’s all about the blacklist🤔
Tuesday 10/02/25 was my work day, but it also happened to be my birthday 🎂 🎉. In my younger days you would not see me going to work on my birthday. I’d probably be drunk at 8 am. Yeah, I used to go hard back in the day.😂But anyway, back to the topic at hand.
On my Wednesday off (10/01/25), I had repeatedly called HRA to see if I could get a live person to talk to about my CityFHEPS voucher status. They have this so-called “DSS One” number that you can call for issues related to EBT, cash assistance and NYC programs. The number is 718-557-1399. Whether you’ll get in touch with a live person when you call this number is a whole new debate altogether.😂On Wednesday, I was kept on hold for 4+ hours, which I could afford because it was my day off, but I finally gave up and opted for the callback option, where you ask HRA to call you back when your turn comes. It saves you from staying on hold forever.
Nobody called me back on Wednesday, even though I had literally manned my two phones—yes, two phones—waiting for them to call back.🙄 Do better, HRA.
Anyway, so Thursday 10/02/25, on my way to work. I don’t know if it was some birthday good luck thing, but the unthinkable happened. My phone rang, and when I looked to see who was calling, it was the HRA number on my caller ID. So I answered the call swiftly—something I almost never do, I’m a “leave a voicemail” type of dude😂—and the lady on the other side identified herself as someone from DSS.
So I’m thinking Hallelujah, right? ALL my questions about the status of my voucher will be answered today, right? WRONG. As I started laying out my case to the DSS lady, I noticed she was not responding to my questions. Then I heard her say, “I’m having trouble hearing you.” That’s when it hit me that I was on the subway, and therefore I couldn’t complete the call—reception issues.🙄
Think about that, the miracle chance HRA returned one my million calls, was while I was riding the subway.🙄Was that a coincidence? Hmm, we report, you decide🤷♀️
***Updated Friday 10/03/25***
So Friday 10/03/25, I figured I’d do a “Hail Mary” and call HRA after I got off work—they close at 5pm. I called at about 3:30 pm and as usual, was treated to a super long time on hold—more than two and a half hours🤦♀️
So I decided to stay on the line past 5 pm just to see if it would be different after hours.
An encouraging message popped up around 5:40 pm saying I had a wait time of about 11-20 minutes. Yay, right? WRONG. 11-20 minutes turned into 40+ minutes and then another message popped up saying “I’m sorry, we’re having problems with this call. Call back later.” The call was cut short.🙄
Think about that. HRA kept a TI for more than two and a half hours on hold, then as soon as he gets to the front of the line, they kick a TI to the curb. Boy, that’s cold😂🥶.
Somebody has to step in and fix this HRA mess😂🤷♀️The same question again—is that a coincidence? Hmm, we report, you decide🤷♀️
So Monday 09/25/25 was my day off, meaning yet another day to go bitchin’ about my voucher situation with the housing specialist.😂
I took advantage of the fact that the kids had gone to school—enjoyed the morning quiet—and then left at about 2pm after I had gotten my rest. Messing with the housing folk early in the morning would ruin my day off😂🤔
So at about 2pm, I stopped by the housing specialist’s office and asked where we stand. She told me we had to go talk about it in the “conference room”.😳 I didn’t quite know what to make of that but hey, it was what it was🤷♀️
So I got there and took my seat on the oval conference table and her boss showed up. Relax, it was actually a good meeting. Here’s what her boss explained to me.
She basically pinned the blame on me.😂 I need a boss who would back me up like that. She basically said that I was to blame because after signing the lease on 08/26/25, the reason my CityFHEPS paperwork was not submitted to HRA was because I did not provide them with my weekly paystubs—that I FAILED TO COMPLY.😳 Boy, you’ve got to give Deep State credit, coz that was a slick one. I’m pretty sure that’s NOT the real reason—and I told her that—but you can see how that quickly becomes a legal toss up—reasonable people can reasonably disagree as to who bears the blame, me or the housing specialist—Deep State did its homework.😂🤷♀️
Anyway, as things currently stand, they had to do a “rebudgeting” last week using my last paystub, and after HRA modifies the voucher—any day now—my CityFHEPS paperwork will be submitted—hopefully sometime this week or next week. They also told me that the apartment folk are aware of the situation, which is a good thing👍
Naturally, I was concerned about how long this “rebudgeting” process might drag along but they assured me that it shouldn’t be that long because “management is fully engaged”.😳 All that ultra bitchin’ I did last week must have landed on some HRA Head Honcho’s ears.😂
But anyway, now we’re just waiting on this “rebudgeting” deal and then hopefully on to the apartment some time in October, which is my birth month for crying out loud🙏🙏And needless to say, I’m NOT giving them the “he didn’t submit the paystubs” excuse this time. As soon as it hits ADP, it is emailed to them.😂 Oh, and you guessed right, the full blown bitchin’ continues. Anybody at HRA who comes across my paperwork will be like, “Oh hell, that’s the dude…”😂
****************************************** Luckily I got off work super early on this day—around 3pm. I have class at 6pm, but the way things are going nowadays, I’m hanging in school by a thread😂 Either I will struggle just for a week pass(C grade) or something, or just withdraw and re-attempt the classes in the Spring semester.
Long story short, I thought it would be better to stop by HRA HQ on 109 E 16th street in Manhattan after work knowing I may have to forfeit class. I’m also off tomorrow (Wednesday), so if I get shuffled around today (most likely outcome😂), I will know exactly where to go tomorrow.🤔
So I get to 109 E 16th street and get sent to the 2nd floor. A boatload of people there—not good😂. I stay there for a while and then get transferred to the 3rd floor. After staying there for a little bit, I get sent to the 10th floor. At that time I already know what time it is— NOTHING is coming out of this trip😂. I just decided to stick it out anyway.
At about 5:40pm, my ticket gets called. So I explained to the lady that I already signed a lease and I was just trying to see if I can get a status on my case because this is the HRA HQ—makes sense right? WRONG. I was honest with her and told her about the “rebudgeting” business. She told me they had no access to that info and that ONLY the shelter people can give me status updates. She said they only deal with renewals. How the hell is the HRA HQ out of the loop re CityFHEPS when they supposedly run the whole show?🤷♀️😂 That just doesn’t sound right. One of the ladies who went before me also asked the same question.
Anyway, apparently ONLY the shelter folks can provide status updates re CityFHEPS. That’s the word on the street, per HRA HQ🤷♀️What could possibly go WRONG with such an arrangement? Legal eagles you know what term comes to mind—“Monell”🤔
So I got back home at about 5:40pm. I’m usually home later than that but on this day, I had a QCC Zoom class at 6pm plus, I wanted to check with the housing lady to see if she had submitted the documents HRA had requested—a lease letter, a signed lease and the “DSS” form, so they could process rent payment for my new apartment.
On Thursday morning (09/25/25) on my way to work, I had spoken to my case manager and asked him to have the housing specialist take care of this before I came back from work. She was not on her office that morning when I was leaving for work. It is HER JOB to do this, you know, like HRA PAYS her a good salary to do this. Remember that, it’s gonna come in handy.
So I get back home from work at about 5:40 pm and immediately went to the case manager’s office. I missed him. Apparently, he had left at 5:30pm that day. Luckily, the housing specialist was in his office. Coincidence?😳
So I got straight to the point—usually I do some old school bs’ing before I get to the point but on this Thursday I got straight to business—“Did you get my message I left with my case manager this morning?” First she said he hadn’t told her anything, but then later in the conversation she said “the document” (requesting the lease etc) didn’t apply to her—so evidently she had had a conversation with my case manager.
I told her she needs to submit the documents so they can process payment for my apartment. I even went further and told her she should have submitted them to HRA right after I signed the lease on 08/26/25. Remember, I’m telling her this because HRA has requested these documents, she works for HRA, and it’s HER JOB HER JOB HER JOB to do this. She’s not doing me a friendly favor. She gets paid to do that.🤔
Believe it or not, she REFUSED to do it—something about that document FROM HRA, didn’t apply to her, and some other nonsense. That’s when sh@t hit the fan. Let’s just say, this TI had had enough. I lost my “gentleman & scholar” demeanor and went all in.😂I told her it’s not for me to BEG her to do her job and that if she didn’t want to do it, HRA needed to bring in a new housing specialist to help him. Things got really loud, so the security staff started filing in. Of course in situations like that a TI will always lose, so I smartly walked away after telling her what I needed her to hear, in front of the security folks. They write incident reports, and I hope they did one yesterday because it will come in handy in court🤔. This TI’s always on some 3D chess🤔
Oh, and btw, believe it or not, this is a very common occurrence for targeted individuals. I will not be surprised if this housing specialist was assigned to me JUST FIR THAT. Gum up the works for a targeted individual 24/7—all part of you know what.🤔
Stay tuned, folks, for some possible shelter drama this evening. You know it’s going down from here on out—till I move to the new apartment.😂
Wednesday 09/24/25 was my day off. A week earlier I had shot a “Hail Mary” email to the NY Governor’s office complaining about my hostage situation at the NYC shelter. I didn’t expect any response but, why not?🤷♀️
Well, well, well as I’m lazying around in bed enjoying my day off, I decide to check my email at about 2pm and wouldn’t you know. NY Governor’s had NOT ONLY responded to my email but they DIRECTED HRA to look into my case.😳 Boy, I love NY. I should have ditched TX a long time ago.😂
As a matter of fact, when I looked at my phone I saw several missed calls and a voicemail from HRA. Now, that’s a miracle. You can never get HRA on the phone without burning at least 3-4 hours on hold. I don’t know what the folks at NY Governor’s office office told them but they got their a$$ on the phone quick.😂
Interestingly, they also gave me a direct email for ME to submit CityFHEPS documents directly to HRA—I guess their slick way of sidestepping the housing specialist.😳Even they know something’s rotten about this situation.
And speaking of the housing specialist, guess what the voicemail HRA left me said? It said they have NOT, repeat NOT received my signed lease and some form DSS8QW-147N, which the housing specialist was supposed to submit right after I signed the lease on 08/26/25. They are asking ME to send it. Can you believe that? A TI is caught up in a sabotage mission for real!!😂
Anyway, I sent them the lease, but I will have to contact the apartment folks and have them send the documents. People get fired behind these dumb stuff, folks. Watch what I tell you. Stay tune
