How is the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) tackling the challenges that threaten housing authorities across the nation? What measures have the NYCHA board members put forth to curtail issues like lower budgets, increased need, and old buildings?

1. What challenges face the New York City
Housing Authority?
How will the NYCHA board and
leadership tackle these challenges?

2. Unprecedented
financial crisis Families hanging in
the balance
Increasing reliance
of NYCHA residents Aging buildings -
on community and many dating back to
social service the 1930s and 40s
programs

3. Since 2002, NYCHA has
received $700 million less in
operating subsidies than its
federal funding formula
requires.
NYCHA’s capital
subsidies have been cut
by a third over the past
decade.
These crises have resulted in a
structural operating deficit and
a $13 billion capital shortfall
through 2015.

4. With vacancy rates in New York
City remaining at an all-time low,
the most impacted are low- to
moderate-income families.
Nearly 161,000 families are on the
waiting list for public housing, and
approximately 125,000 families are
on the waiting list for Section 8
housing.
21,936
applicants
are on both
waiting lists

5.  The turnover rate in calendar year 2011 for
NYCHA conventional public housing apartments
was 3.29%.
 The vacancy rate of NYCHA apartments available
for occupancy was 0.70% as of February 1, 2012.
 Because of the varied need priorities that comprise
a family’s profile and the low turnover and
vacancy rates of apartments, it is virtually
impossible to establish an average waiting time for
a family to enter conventional public housing.
Some applicants can be matched up with an
available apartment in months, while others often
have to wait years.

6. NYCHA’s programs and services are often a
lifeline to residents, especially children, teens,
single parent households, seniors, and
families in crisis; thousands of residents use
these services that directly cost NYCHA more
than $75 million, only $12 million of which is
funded by grants.

7. Recent years have More than 280,000 repairs
brought are needed citywide with
unparalleled fiscal an average of eight pending
challenges for work orders per apartment.
NYCHA as it NYCHA estimates it would
strives to maintain cost approximately $500
and preserve its million to make interior
178,000 units of repairs to all NYCHA
affordable housing. apartments’ most basic
needs.
Budget deficits and continued underfunding have forced
the Authority to cut 11 percent of its maintenance
workforce since 2005. This makes it harder for NYCHA to
keep up with the pace of needed repairs at its 2,602
buildings, most of which are between 40 and 70 years old.

8. What is being done, and what more can be done to help?

9. The New York City Housing NYCHA's inventory of vacant land
Authority is working in and available development rights
coordination with the City's provides NYCHA with significant
Department of Housing opportunities:
Preservation and Development  Underutilized public housing
(HPD) and Housing Development property can be a catalyst for
Corporation (HDC) to take new affordable development
advantage of the full complement of including:
available housing programs to  Family or senior rental
achieve the Mayor's goal of 6,000 housing
affordable housing units on
NYCHA property.  Homeownership housing
 Retail to meet local shopping
needs and/or
 Schools and other community
facilities
 Monies obtained for this
property will be reinvested to
preserve existing public
housing.

10. NYCHA launched a repair In just 6 months, the repair
task force in June 2011 teams that includes
grouping a team of skilled carpenters, plumbers,
workers to help reduce plasterers and maintenance
significant the backlog in workers successfully
repairs and to reduce wait completed nearly 40,000
times. The team of workers repairs, in almost 10,000
targeted buildings with the apartments citywide.
highest number of work Because of this effort, there
order repairs per were more than 90,000
apartment. more repairs completed in
2011 than in 2010, a six (6)
percent increase.

11. NYCHA launched PlanNYCHA in 2011. PlanNYCHA is a call to action
to the public meant to outline the challenges facing public housing, and
inform on ways to assist NYCHA in resolving the difficulties it is facing.
Nonprofit and private sector organizations can help public housing
achieve fiscal stability and strengthen NYCHA communities.
“As NYCHA continues to grapple with Federal budget cuts we will seek innovative new
financing structures to best leverage available funding.”
– NYCHA Board Member Emily Youssouf

12.  http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/about/plannycha.
shtml
 http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/downloads/pdf/plan-
nycha.pdf
 http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/about/factsheet.s
html
 http://www.plannycha.org/
 http://www.plannycha.org/nycha-cannot-fail/
 http://www.plannycha.org/the-plan2/major-challenges/
 http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/news/repairs-
receive-rapid-response-from-new-nycha-taskforce.shtml
 http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/preserving/repair
s.shtml