Image Credit: NYCHA.

The funds will go toward improving security lighting and lead abatement. On December 31, 2020, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced that the agency received a $24.7 million Emergency Capital Needs Safety and security Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used to address resident health, safety and security concerns. 

Of the funds, approximately $17.3 million will be allocated to modernize security lighting at three NYCHA developments, the Thomas Jefferson and James Weldon Johnson campuses in East Harlem and the Walt Whitman campus in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The improved lighting will increase the effectiveness of closed-circuit security cameras by providing more lighting and contrast to discourage crime. A 2019 study by the University of Chicago Urban Labs found that developments with improved lighting had lower crime rates. The improved lighting will also increase accessibility to outdoor spaces for residents. 

Another $7.3 million will be allocated toward lead abatement efforts in NYCHA campuses citywide in units where children under 6 live or regularly visit. NYCHA has continued to work on lead abatement, including collecting data to determine household composition and door-to-door surveys to determine what units have children. In 2019, NYCHA began an initiative to test over 150 components in 134,000 apartments for lead with advanced technology.

NYCHA Chair and CEO Greg Ross stated, “We are thankful to HUD for recognizing the importance of improving the health and safety of our residents. This support will be essential to addressing the security capital needs capable of enhancing resident quality of life going forward.”

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)