The City Council holds an oversight hearing on NYCHA’s public-private partnership agreement. Image credit: CityLand

NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye answered questions on the Triboro Preservation Partners agreement.  On February 10, 2015 the City Council Committee on Public Housing held an oversight hearing on Triborough Preservation Partners, a public-private agreement between the New York City Housing Authority, L+M Development Partners, and BFC Partners. The venture was designed to rehabilitate six of NYCHA’s Section 8 properties containing nine hundred units: Bronxchester Houses, Saratoga Square, Campos Plaza, Milbank-Frawley, East 4th Street, and East 120th Street.  Under the terms of the agreement, L+M and BFC own a fifty percent stake in the properties over the next thirty years.

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City Planning Chairman Carl Weisbrod & HPD Commissioner Vicki Been are sworn in before the Council’s oversight hearing. Image credit: William Alatriste, NYC Council

HPD, City Planning, NYCHA among those who answered questions on the results and direction of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan.  On November 17, 2014, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings, joined by the Committee on Land Use and Committee on Community Development, held an oversight hearing on Housing New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan. The Council heard testimony over the course of seven hours from Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Vicki Been, City Planning Commission Chairman Carl Weisbrod, along with representatives from the New York City Housing Authority, the Housing Development Corporation, labor unions, tenant advocacy groups, and other stakeholders.

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Audit found that NYCHA could save $1.5 million in its capital projects program annually. On March 15, 2012, City Comptroller John C. Liu issued an audit report on the New York City Housing Authority’s oversight of its Construction Management Build Program. Under the program, known as CM/Build, NYCHA awards contracts to construction management firms to provide pre-construction and construction management services for particular capital projects. NYCHA implemented the program in 2003 to improve project quality and ensure the effective and efficient administration of projects. As of the report date, NYCHA had awarded CM/Build contracts totaling $425 million to ten firms. No City funds were used for the CM/Build program, but the Comptroller audited it to identify any issues that could affect NYCHA capital improvement projects where City funding is used.

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Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Chair of the Committee on Public Housing, speaks at the NYCHA oversight hearing on June 29, 2020. Image Credit: New York City Council

Residents voiced concerns about mold, ventilation and lack of signage. On June 29, 2020, the New York City Council’s Committee on Public Housing and the Committee on Housing and Buildings held a joint hearing to discuss the steps that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) are taking to protect residents from the spread of COVID-19. (more…)

Image Credit: Comptroller Scott M. Stringer’s Office.

NYCHA wasted $3.7 million by replacing eight roofs while they were under warranty. On July 26, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller announced the results of its audit of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) roof maintenance. According to New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, NYCHA wasted millions on roof repairs that should have come at no expense to taxpayers and failed to perform basic oversight and preventive maintenance of roofs, putting the health and safety of thousands of NYCHA residents at risk. (more…)