Schumer Vows To Monitor Federal Inspection Of East New York Complex Co-Owned By Trump: Report

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — Sen. Chuck Schumer has promised to closely monitor a federal inspection of the subsidized housing complex that is co-owned by President Trump, the Daily News reported Thursday.

Starrett City — the 46-building complex that earns Donald Trump millions of dollars a year — is about to be inspected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Trump appointee Ben Carson.

"It is critical that HUD's inspection be done in a thorough, professional and transparent way,” Schumer, New York’s senior Democratic senator, told the Daily News. “I will be watching like a hawk to make sure that is exactly what happens."

Starrett City made national news Wednesday when the Washington Post reported the Trump administration’s proposed budget slashed HUD funding but kept a landlord subsidy that earned the president about $5 million from his Starrett City stake in 2016.

And in New York City, the Daily News reported that the development’s HUD inspection scores there have dropped from 89 to 70 in the past 10 years and that a 43-year-old cooling system has been on the fritz for weeks.

Carson was asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would prevent the Trumps from making money through HUD as its secretary, but declined to give a direct answer, the Daily News reported.

“I can assure you that the things that I do are driven by a sense of morals and values,” Carson said. “And therefore I will absolutely not play favorites for anyone.”

The White House did not respond to the Daily News’ request for comment on Starrett City.

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