New York, NY —

Public housing residents are calling on Governor Spitzer to sign a bill that would provide badly needed funding for struggling projects across the city. The bill has already been approved by the legislature. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: In May, the public housing authority announced it would have to layoff hundreds of employees and begin using money set aside for major renovation projects to run day-to-day operations. The authority is trying to close a budget gap of nearly a quarter billion dollars caused mainly by a lack of funding from Washington and Albany. During a tour of the Wagner Houses in East Harlem, tenant organizer Lisa Burris said public housing is falling apart.

BURRIS: From the outside looking in, it looks like we don't care where we live. We don't even have control of what happens outside and around our buildings, let alone inside our apartments. We just visited a resident's home and he didn't have a stove for a year.

REPORTER: The legislation would require the state to pay the housing authority the same as it does private landlords who house tenants on welfare. Advocates say the change would generate an extra $47 million over 2 years. The governor's office says the bill has not been received yet. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.