The city’s embattled Housing Authority chief showed up late for work Wednesday morning shielded by an NYPD officer — and refused to address allegations she lied about conducting lead-paint inspections in thousands of low-income apartments.
The uniformed cop followed NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye into the office building at 250 Broadway, across from City Hall, around 10:30 a.m., and appeared to be serving as her bodyguard.
He used his torso to try to block The Post from snapping a photo in the lobby, then accompanied Olatoye as she walked to a nearby Italian eatery about 90 minutes later.
Olatoye had lunch with an unidentified woman inside the Gran Morsi restaurant on Warren Street, while the cop, who’s assigned to a Housing Bureau command in Lower Manhattan, paced back and forth outside.
An NYPD spokesman declined to say why it provided Olatoye with that level of protection on the taxpayer’s dime.
Meanwhile, Public Advocate Tish James — who last year forced NYCHA to heat its apartments when the outside temperature dips below 55 degrees — said she was “deeply disturbed” that the agency’s lead-inspection snafu had “put thousands of our children in harm’s way.”
“I am demanding that NYCHA Chair Olatoye provide my office with a full in-person accounting within 24 hours, as we consider actions to address NYCHA’s failures,” James said Wednesday.
A day earlier, the city Department of Investigation released a damning report that said Olatoye admitted filing federal paperwork that falsely claimed 55,000 NYCHA apartments had been inspected for lead-paint hazards last year.
“Heads need to roll,” said Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) as he called the DOI revelations “appalling.” Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr. (D-The Bronx), said: “It’s time for new leadership at NYCHA.”
Incoming Councilman Mark Gjonaj, who’s now a Democratic Bronx assemblyman, said: “If these fraud allegations are true, someone must be held criminally responsible.”
Legal experts have told The Post that Olatoye could be charged with making a false statement to the federal government, with former US Justice Department prosecutor Peter Katz saying she “made almost a full confession.”
On her way into her office, Olatoye ignored questions about the DOI report, saying “the appropriate way to talk about this matter” was through a NYCHA spokeswoman.
A NYCHA spokeswoman said the agency was “on track” to inspect more than 4,200 apartments where children under 6 live, but wouldn’t elaborate or say if it planned to hire an outside monitor, as recommended by DOI.
Olatoye later issued a prepared statement saying: “I have owned that there have been gaps in compliance and in communications. We can and must do better.”
Additional reporting by Michael Gartland
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