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Muslim Woman Forced to Stay Covered at Home Because Workers Can See In

 Toni Khadijah James, 51, who lives in Red Hook Houses West, said she feels uneasy at home knowing that construction workers can peer into her windows.
Red Hook Houses West
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RED HOOK — A Muslim woman who lives in Red Hook says she's forced to stay covered up at home because male construction workers can see into her windows.

Toni Khadijah James, 51, has counted at least 10 times in the past few weeks when she’s seen the face of a construction worker looking into her bedroom or bathroom windows as they repair the brick facade of her building in Red Hook Houses West, she said.

James wears a headscarf and dresses conservatively when she's out in public but usually wears T-shirts at home. Since she knows men can see into her apartment, she said she needs to stay covered.

“I don’t want to walk through my house and see someone looking through my window,” said James, who lives on the building’s 12th floor with her 15-year-old daughter.

“I don’t want anybody to see me compromised,” James said.

Asbestos abatement and brick work began last month at Red Hook Houses West after the hazardous material was found in rooftop parapets. The remaining work in the West complex should be completed in August, New York City Housing Authority spokeswoman Zodet Negrón said.

One morning, James, who works as a community organizer and health liaison in her neighborhood, walked into her bathroom and " I see his eyes right there" in a window, she told NYCHA officials and building supervisors at a recent construction update meeting.

She wants construction workers to cover the windows when they're working outside an apartment, which they do sometimes but not every time, she said.

The Housing Authority will look into the issue, Negrón said.

“We’ll speak to the contractor and work with them on this to make sure that our residents feel safe throughout the project,” the spokeswoman said in an email.

James said the workers were "very apologetic" when they spotted her or her daughter at home, and that she didn't think the workers were intentionally looking inside her home of more than 20 years.

“These guys are really working," she said.

If NYCHA residents were told when workers would be outside windows, James said she would schedule to leave home during those hours.

Work is also underway at three buildings of Red Hook Houses East, which should be completed before the end of the year, after which construction will begin on the other buildings, Negrón added.