NYCHA’s Needs
The Story
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The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) now has a federal monitor and is supposedly getting more money and attention from the city. But plans to remake the agency appear stalled, and as winter approaches, tenants have little reason to feel confident that heat and hot water will flow uninterrupted. The nation’s largest public housing authority still needs a significant makeover.
The Facts You Need to Know
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Spare: One-third of NYCHA tenants have spare bedrooms, while many low-income people in private housing live in cramped conditions. Read more.
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Stores: NYCHA has significant assets—including street frontage—that could be redesigned to generate extra income. Read more.
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Forever: Public housing tenancy was never intended to be permanent, but 47% of NYCHA households have lived in their units for more than 20 years. Read more.
“NYCHA’s size is paralleled by its organizational disarray in providing any semblance of adequate housing…”
Twitter Take
NYCHA crime surges as Harlem's Wagner Houses become gang battleground https://t.co/wMdpz6jneB pic.twitter.com/AZw1bap78o
— New York Post (@nypost) September 15, 2019
The Past is Present
“It’s not clear whether or not the sale of parking and vacant lots in Chelsea and East New York in order to raise $50 million is anything more than a stop-gap to allow the creaky NYCHA machine to keep going for a while.”
And in other news...
“Officials are working to waterproof the leaky skylight at the World Trade Center Oculus as the $3.9 billion transit hub prepares to face another New York winter.”