CityLimits: NYCHA’s New Federal Monitor Issues Mixed Reviews for Performance Over the Past 5 Years

CityLimits: NYCHA's New Federal Monitor Issues Mixed Reviews for Performance Over the Past 5 Years

• September 4, 2024
• 4:00 pm

NYLAG's Anna Luft spoke with CityLimitsabout the ongoing issues public housing tenants face, including significant delays in receiving repairs and basic maintenance.

After five years under federal monitorship, NYCHA has yet to show its residents the dignity of quickly addressing health hazards like mold and moisture issues. In some cases, they're fighting residents on doing basic repairs, leaving them in unsafe and unlivable conditions.

"Though the start of the school yearis still a day away for the city's scholars, the New York City Housing Authority received a progress report showing mixed reviews of its maintenance and operations efforts over the past five years.

"The monitor review, which comes out quarterly, is part of a legal agreement struck in 2019 with NYCHA, federal and state agencies in an effort to hold the housing authority accountable for how it manages its properties…

"Anna Luft, the public housing justice project director at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), had a similar takeaway. 'I've heard of people reporting mold and moisture issues and being told no one can come see them for over a month to do an inspection, let alone begin the removal,' said Luftin an email to City Limits.

"Slow repair times were among the reasons NYCHA was placed under federal monitorship in the first place.

"In January 2019, NYCHA entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), and the City of New York to ensure the housing authority is managing its properties efficiently and effectively. As the largest public housing system in the nation, NYCHA is home to 1 in 17 New Yorkers.

"Luft did credit the federal monitorship for creating the Mold Ombudsman Call Center (OCC), which she says has proven to be effective for NYLAG and its clients.

"The OCC is a 24-hour, third-party service that allows NYCHA residents and tenants who live under private management in the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program to submit complaints for mold and moisture concerns.

"A tenant may call the OCC for reasons such as a maintenance worker not showing up for a scheduled appointment or incomplete repairs, according to the call center.

"'However, NYCHA management is still not resolving mold issues quickly enough,' Luft said.

"'I think in a world where NYCHA itself has significantly improved since 2019, we wouldn't be relying on the Ombudsman as much as we do to push for and facilitate mold remediation and removal,' said Luft. 'The reality is, legal advocates shouldn't have to get involved, and neither should the OCC.'" …

Read the full piece by Tatyana Turner in CityLimitsfrom September 4, 2024.

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