The embattled New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which oversees more than 175,000 apartments with around 400,000 residents in New York City, may soon be under much closer scrutiny from the federal government.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, NYCHA, the U.S. district attorney’s office, and the city have reached a tentative agreement to bring a federal monitor in to oversee the housing authority. While the specific details of the deal were not immediately apparent, the Times reports that the monitor would effectively replace NYCHA’s current interim chairman, Stanley Brezenoff, who was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last April following former chair Shola Olatoye’s resignation.
The terms of the deal also stipulate that the city will invest $1 billion into NYCHA over the next four years, and $200 million each year thereafter. NYCHA will also be required to hit certain benchmarks relating to some of the biggest problems that have plagued the authority in recent years.
Those problems include an ongoing lead paint scandal, the extent of which was concealed by authority officials, as well as ongoing problems with heat, hot water, and dismal conditions in its thousands of apartments. Last year, NYCHA claimed the top spot on then-public advocate Letitia James’s “worst landlords” list, a first for the beleaguered authority.
The U.S. District Attorney’s office and NYCHA reached a settlement agreement last summer that would have imposed similar rules, including a federal monitor and dedicated funding for repairs, on the authority. However, the settlement was rejected by a judge in November, and since then, the idea of receivership—i.e. a full federal takeover of NYCHA—had been bandied about as a way to pull the struggling authority out of a hole. The tentative deal reportedly stops short of full receivership.
On Wednesday night, HUD Region 2 head Lynne Patton teased a “huge and historic announcement” for NYCHA residents on Twitter, adding that “whether or not this announcement will be great news for [de Blasio] remains to be seen.”
Lynne Patton (HUD)@LynnePattonHUD
Thrilled to announce that @SecretaryCarson is coming to NYC tomorrow to make a huge & historic announcement that will be great news for the residents of @NYCHA! However, whether or not this announcement will be great news for the @NYCMayor remains to be seen…press details in AM
Comptroller Scott Stringer issued a statement on the deal, saying that, “The time for talk and political stunts is over. Cut the long overdue check from the federal government to fully fund the needed repairs, listen to the real NYCHA monitors, put a plan in place, and get to work.”
No comments:
Post a Comment