The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has struck a deal with five different private developers that will hand over the management and repair duties for seven public housing complexes to the selected companies in exchange for $1.5 billion in repairs.
The deal will impact 5,908 housing units spread across NYCHA's Linden Houses, Boulevard Houses, Williamsburg Houses, Bethune Gardens, Marshall Plaza, Audubon Houses, and Harlem River Houses 1 and 2 in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
In a statement highlighting the deal, NYCHA chairman and CEO Greg Russ said, “We are excited to announce the development teams that will partner with us in meeting the capital need of more than $1.5 billion associated with these NYCHA campuses ... [the developers] will be instrumental in completing the renovations our residents need and deserve.”
New York City Deputy Mayor Vicki Been added that "The average NYCHA building is 60 years old, and many buildings and apartments need significant investments to improve the residents’ quality of life. By working with new partners, we are making good on our NYCHA 2.0 promise to make long-term and meaningful improvements to the city’s affordable housing.”
The move is a sign of things to come at NYCHA, as the organization deals with a $45 billion budget shortfall for needed maintenance and repairs.
For example, NYCHA recently sold the air rights for the Ingersoll Houses in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood for $25 million and a promise from developers that they would build 21 new below market-rate units. Last year, Peterson Rich Office was selected by the Regional Plan Association to undertake special study of NYCHA properties' potential for redevelopment and expansion, a vision that could be partially funded via air rights swaps and construction initiatives that make use of these unused development allowances. In addition, NYCHA came under federal supervision last year after the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sued NYCHA on behalf of its residents due to the living conditions in many of the apartments.
Russ, the new NYCHA CEO, was hired in June of 2019 after leading the public housing authority of Minneapolis for two years. While there, Russ drew scorn from housing tenant advocates due to his use of the controversial Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, a federal initiative that helps private developers acquire public housing projects and perform needed repairs using private funding in exchange for federal rental income from the Section 8 housing voucher program, America's most significant extant public housing initiative. The controversy earned Russ a reputation as being a "czar of privatization."
The RAD program, it should be noted, was developed in 2012 under the guidance of Shaun Donovan, the former HUD Secretary who is now running for Mayor of New York City.
Under the new privatized management plan, several of the private developers taking over the public housing complexes will make use of the RAD program. According to a plan unveiled by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018, NYCHA plans to turn over the management of up to 62,000 units to private developers.
Do not trick the residents on this deal. Do not take AWAY our apartments and give them to the gentrification era. Do not lead the low income astray,, because if this happens,,diblasio will have to be fined and so will NYCHA. Millions of dollars are being invested,,years will be invested,,but we as residents want to feel invested upon too. Our apartments are ours. Homelessness is a critical situation in NYC,,why add on to this?? I would appreciate you upper eschalons making the right decisions for us tenants that are looked at as Dirty,, Uneducated,,and Poor..These words hurt and are degrading,,and if some are it's not our fault. We can't get The water we need,, or the schooling we need,,or the jobs that's needed to pay our rent,,so most of us stay on P.A. this is our only source of income. Fixing up our bldgs will be a blessing and hopefully not a Curse.
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I'm curious to see how this plays out.
the obvious answer would be nothing gets fixed or upgraded, and several private management firms get at least 5 years of fees before things hold up in court.
Because privatization always works so well ... for corporations.
Maybe we should try taxing billionaires more?
^ this is the answer. tax them.
We already pay our taxes. They hire accounting and law firms to legally shirk theirs.
You forgot lobbyists and congressmen.
I know a manager at a public housing place -- said the workers just sit around all day and clock out without doing much repair work. Selling units to pay more for less will lead to predictable results.
When the poors do this they are LAZY. When the rich do this they're DELEGATING.
NYCHA is using the funding to upgrade management offices, while the apartments are in serious need of restoration..
Do not trick the residents on this deal. Do not take AWAY our apartments and give them to the gentrification era. Do not lead the low income astray,, because if this happens,,diblasio will have to be fined and so will NYCHA. Millions of dollars are being invested,,years will be invested,,but we as residents want to feel invested upon too. Our apartments are ours. Homelessness is a critical situation in NYC,,why add on to this?? I would appreciate you upper eschalons making the right decisions for us tenants that are looked at as Dirty,, Uneducated,,and Poor..These words hurt and are degrading,,and if some are it's not our fault. We can't get The water we need,, or the schooling we need,,or the jobs that's needed to pay our rent,,so most of us stay on P.A. this is our only source of income. Fixing up our bldgs will be a blessing and hopefully not a Curse.
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