BY ZACH WILLIAMS | New York City Housing Authority residents demanded better communication and openness in the months ahead from authority officials as the agency continues to develop strategies to address its deep financial problems.
On July 14, about 100 people attended a town hall meeting at Baruch College, at Lexington Ave. and E. 25th St., at which NYCHA tenants questioned officials for about two hours. A similar town hall was held on July 8 at Hunter College. Both events followed the unveiling of “Next Generation NYCHA,” a plan to move the authority from the brink of fiscal catastrophe to a $230 million surplus over the next decade. Residents’ participation moving forward, including in upcoming focus groups, is critical to the process, officials said.
The stakes are high, considering the importance of public housing for children and seniors, as well as the additional tenant protections afforded NYCHA residents, who never pay more than 30 percent of their household income, according to Michael Kelly, the authority’s general manager. In response to a question, NYCHA officials said that they use gross rather than net income to determine housing eligibility per federal requirements.
NYCHA will have to evolve in the coming years to cut costs and tackle nearly $17 billion in major capital work affecting its more than 300 housing developments, Kelly added. Decreased state and federal funding contributed to a $1 billion shortfall in operating revenues since 2001, according to NYCHA.
“We are really facing a situation where the status quo is just not good enough,” Kelly said. “Eighty percent of our 2,600 buildings are more than 40 years old.”
Tenants expressed vocal opposition to the idea of increasing revenue by gauging parking fees on nearby market-rent spaces. That strategy would result in Manhattan public housing residents paying significantly more than NYCHA tenants in the boroughs. Fees would be capped at $150 per month. The current average monthly price for a parking space is about $25.
About 3 percent of NYCHA residents citywide use the roughly 11,000 available spaces, according to Karina Totah, senior adviser to the NYCHA chairperson and one of the meeting’s eight panelists. She added that NYCHA residents who rent the parking spaces typically have incomes that are nearly 50 percent higher than those who don’t.
“It isn’t equitable,” City Councilmember Rosie Mendez said. “If you make $23,000 and you live in Brooklyn, you pay less for parking, even if you make $23,000 and live in Manhattan. You are then penalizing someone because of where they live.”
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer — who organized both town halls — said that for those who do own a car, a cheap place to park makes a big difference in their ability to make a living.
“A lot of NYCHA residents don’t work in Manhattan,” Brewer said. “They work in the suburbs. They work in faraway places. They make low incomes and it’s hard to get there by public transportation.”
Residents also expressed skepticism about preliminary plans to transfer ownership of “scattered site” properties to nonprofits. These properties — typically old tenements — were acquired by NYCHA when their owners abandoned them decades ago. Brewer interjected, stating that “nonprofits sell buildings.”
“My primary concern is privatization,” Felicia Gordon, resident association leader of the Rafael Hernandez Houses, at 189 Allen St., told The Villager. “They keep saying there is going to be affordable housing — affordable to whom?”
Similar privatization concerns were raised earlier this year when NYCHA officials revealed that some properties — including Campos Plaza I in the East Village — were now only 50 percent owned by the authority, which had sold the other half as part of a public-private partnership in order to finance building repairs.
In recent months, the authority has slashed millions of dollars from its deficit, though officials could not state at the July 14 meeting just how those funds were currently being used. They added vaguely that they could provide specifics in the near future.
“I want to know where the money is going,” C.B. 3 member Nancy Ortiz told The Villager.
NYCHA officials furthermore did not offer an update on where they might construct additional residential buildings for the 13,000 new residential units that the Next Generation NYCHA plan proposes.
On July 13, Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit outlining the state of NYCHA building repairs. Stringer also outlined how technology could boost accountability and transparency at the authority through means similar to ones used by the Police Department.
The data, which was provided by NYHCA, included work-order backlog numbers as of July 2014 and violations as of September 2014.
Among area public-housing developments, 45 Allen St. had 42 backlogged work orders, with four outstanding building violations.
The Baruch Houses had 904 backlogged work orders, plus 55 outstanding building violations.
Bracetti Plaza had 20 backlogged work orders and two outstanding building violations.
Campos Plaza had 87 backlogged work orders and five outstanding building violations.
First Houses had 19 backlogged work orders, plus one outstanding building violation.
Over at Gompers Houses, there were 147 backlogged work orders and nine outstanding building violations.
LaGuardia Houses was saddled with 275 backlogged work orders and 26 outstanding building violations.
LES Consolidated sported 180 backlogged work orders, as well as 30 outstanding building violations.
Meltzer Tower had 60 backlogged work orders and one outstanding building violation.
Jacob Riis Houses had a high number of backlogged work orders, 718, with 43 outstanding building violations.
Seward Park Extension boasted 121 backlogged work orders, plus 16 outstanding violations.
Al Smith Houses had 468 backlogged work orders on top of 32 outstanding violations.
Vladeck Houses sported 335 backlogged work orders, along with 42 outstanding violations.
Lillian Wald Houses had 330 backlogged work orders and eight outstanding violations.
Plans are underway to streamline communications for residents seeking building repairs, NYCHA officials said on July 14. One strategy is to localize repair management with the goal of fulfilling requests within one week through one telephone call. A smartphone app would give real-time updates about where and when repair personnel are available. Such measures are going into effect at some developments this summer, according to a July 12 NYCHA statement.
Improving service and making repairs requires time and difficult decisions due to financial constraints, NYCHA officials added.
A public hearing on NYCHA’s draft annual plan is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tues., Aug. 11, at Pace University’s Schimmel Center for the Arts, at 3 Spruce St. (just south of the Brooklyn Bridge on ramp).
