Last week at Michael Cohen’s hearing Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) tried to fight accusations that President Donald Trump is racist by using the good ol’ “Black friend” excuse,
pointing out HUD official Lynne Patton, who briefly stood as Meadows extolled that Patton herself claimed would never work for a racist.
The exchange quickly lit up a social media firestorm, as many critics said she allowed herself to be used as a prop.
However, according to
the New York Daily News, Patton herself doesn’t see it that way.
“I am not a prop,” Patton, who oversees HUD’s New York and New Jersey region said. “The only prop in that room is Michael Cohen for the Democratic party.”
“Michael Cohen is going to jail,” she added.
Patton spoke to reporters at the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in the United States on Monday.
Currently, the HUD executive is in the middle of a four-week stay in New York City Housing Authority complexes around the city to highlight the terrible living conditions. She has already lived for about a week in housing complexes in the Bronx and Manhattan. Her stay in Queens is expected to last the same period of time. During these stays, she lives with volunteer families within the different complexes.
According to ABC7NY, she has been meeting with residents to discuss housing issues and other issues within the city’s housing agency – including reports of issues with heat, lead paid, mold, and lack of appears – even though, according to Patton, the government allocates $30 million each week to NYCHA to keep things up and running.
The news station reports that many residents of the complexes hope that Patton’s visits lead to changes within the system.
