The Community Service Society of New York
The Community Service Society of New York
25/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 26/07/2024 21:36
Press Release: CSS Report Exposes Worsening Conditions for all Low-Income Renters in NYC and Conducts the First Citywide RAD/PACT Survey
July 25th, 2024
Press Release
CSS Report Exposes Worsening Conditions for all Low-Income Renters in NYC and Conducts the First Citywide RAD/PACT Survey
Report finds disturbing eviction cases trends after RAD/PACT conversion
For more than a decade, public housing has become synonymous with poor housing conditions. However, using data from its latest Unheard Third survey, a new Community Service Society of New York (CSS) brief, "The Other Housing Crisis," reveals the reality that poor housing conditions are not just a NYCHA problem but a low-income housing problem in New York City.
The report also includes findings for the first ever city-wide survey of residents in households converted from NYCHA-managed Section 9 (traditional public housing) to privately managed Section 8 (project-based voucher housing). As NYCHA looks to quickly offload the risk and work of managing tens of thousands of properties to private companies and bring in financing to fund repairs, this report raises real questions about the accountability and oversight of this monumental transition public housing tenants are in the midst of.
Overall, the report momentarily sets aside the perennial conversation about the housing affordability crisis to assess the state of the homes that low-income residents can afford. We find that despite worrying conditions in public housing, the administrative infrastructure needed to provide oversight, deal with critical issues and upkeep, and some level of transparency exists for NYCHA in a way that it doesn't in privately managed homes. Furthermore, NYCHA's mission to bring housing stability - and most recently- sustainability to its families is counter to other landlords that put profits over saving our planet.
Key Findings Include:
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NYCHA conditions, when bad, are very bad-but there is a baseline of poor conditions facing most low-income rental households across housing types.
- More than a third of NYCHA residents and on average, a quarter of low-income non-public housing residents across rental categories described clean water as a serious problem.
- Forty-nine percent of NYCHA residents said that leaks and mold were a serious problem, compared to 34 percent of residents in other subsidized housing types, 31 percent of rent regulated residents, and 26 percent in market rate units.
- In 2022, Community Districts with 10 or more NYCHA developments had 318 child asthma emergency department visits per 10,000 people compared to 183 visits per 10,000 people for those with 1-4 NYCHA developments. Community Districts with 0 NYCHA developments had just 87 visits (per 10,000 people) over the period.
- Sixteen percent of NYCHA residents said that heat and hot water were a very serious problem, which was less than low-income households living in other subsidized housing (18 percent), the same as rent stabilized housing residents (16 percent), and only just above for market rate tenants (13 percent). However, 20 percent of NYCHA residents described heat and hot water as a somewhat serious problem, much higher than other low-income rental households.
- Residents in developments that convert to Section 8 and private management through RAD/PACT reported a more positive landlord-tenant relationship when it came to respect and meeting their repair needs compared to NYCHA. However, RAD/PACT residents continue to report poor water quality, heat, leaks and mold conditions.
- RAD/PACT households reported eviction attempts nearly six times more frequently than renters in public housing.
The report specifically looked at a lack of access to clean water, broken doors, locks, and intercoms, leaks and mold, and heat and hot water lapses-conditions one wouldn't expect to be concerns in a center of wealth like New York City. Appalling conditions that have ties to serious long-term illnesses and potentially fatal complications drive home the connection between health and housing. While investment and innovation are needed to transform these homes into healthy ones, the report mainly calls for the carrying out of basic enforcement.
Furthermore, the relatively high rates of eviction reported by RAD/PACT tenants is a shocking revelation, especially given the limited transparency the privately managed buildings are subject to. The report, co-authored by CSS housing policy analysts Iziah Thompson, Oksana Mironova and Samuel Stein, calls for a more comprehensive reporting and other measures to ensure that a building being handed over to private management doesn't mean residents are forgotten about.
"That many communities across the US are in the midst of a housing affordability crisis is a well-known fact," said David R. Jones, CSS President and CEO. "But this report uncovers a real need to expand the focus beyond cost but also to the quality of homes available to low income families."
"The connection between housing, health, and the climate crisis is no more apparent than in this report," said Iziah Thompson, CSS Senior Policy Analyst and co-author. "The facades, HVAC, and building systems that mean more comfortable healthier living are also those that will help save our planet by reducing carbon emissions, and NYCHA is the place to start this health and sustainability transformation."
The following is a summary of the report's recommendations:
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Stronger Code Enforcement Across Housing Types via:
- Expansion of proactive enforcement;
- Expansion and reform 7A administration;
- Collection of civil and financial penalties.
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RAD/PACT-Specific Transparency by:
- Passing Int. No. 110 with several additions;
- Returning RAD/PACT sites to the NYCHA Development Map geographic data and Development Databook by simply including a column that denotes its RAD/PACT conversion status;
- Adopt transparency similar to Massachusetts, including a RAD Resident's Bill of Rights;
- Providing and publishing a more robust and standard presentation of resident conditions and performance ratings;
- Returning RAD/PACT sites to public management upon resident request and create a resident management shadowing program.
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PHIX New York Plan, which includes:
- A capital plan;
- A Green New Deal for New York Public Housing;
- Modernize PHAs;
- Protect RAD residents;
- TOPA for public housing-establishment of Resident Management Corporations;
- More public housing production.