Several Brooklyn lawmakers and Mayor Bill de Blasio today lauded the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announcement they will invest $400 million in upgrades through the agency’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which converts apartments’ funding to the Section 8 program.
De Blasio in conjunction with the announcement committed the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to renovate nearly 2,400 apartments across 21 public housing developments in Brooklyn and Manhattan with the money.
De Blasio said the homes will be permanently affordable and that quality private property managers will maintain them. The 5,300 residents at these developments will retain all their rights as public housing residents, continue to be charged their current rent, and remain in their buildings during the renovations, which will include new kitchens and bathrooms; replacing windows, elevators, boilers and roofs; and improved common areas.
NYCHA will begin selecting development teams for the construction and management work this fall, with renovations on the first buildings beginning in 2019.
“All New Yorkers deserve to live in safe and decent housing, which is why we’ve been investing in NYCHA since the first day of my Administration to reverse the decades of neglect. The City is leveraging every tool available to deliver critically needed repairs without raising the rent. We will never stop fighting to improve the quality of life for NYCHA residents,” said de Blasio.
The new investment was applauded by many Brooklyn Lawmakers including Public Housing Committee Chair City Councilwoman Alicka-Ampry Samuel (D-Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant).
“Residents are long overdue for funding and attention to some of the most critical needs causing the most serious of problems in their homes. Having personally seen renovated RAD apartments and having in-depth conversations concerning preservation of resident rights and permanence of affordability,” said Ampry-Samuel.
NYCHA will begin resident engagement this summer at the 21 developments across Manhattan and Brooklyn, with renovations on the first building beginning in 2019.
Brooklyn sites include:
- Armstrong I
- Armstrong II
- 572 Warren Street
- Berry Street-South 9th Street
- Marcy Avenue-Greene Avenue Site A
- Marcy Avenue-Greene Avenue Site B
- Weeksville Gardens
“As NYCHA continues to move forward amid funding challenges and major long- and short-term capital needs, the RAD public-private partnership has demonstrated that it can significantly enhance tenants’ quality of life and help lead NYCHA into the future,” said ,” said Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach), Chair of the Assembly’s Housing Committee.
City Councilman Robert Cornegy (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights), in whose district several of the public housing projects lies, said NYCHA developments throughout this city have suffered from a lack of funding for capital improvements for too long.
“With the funding available through the RAD program, more New Yorkers living in public housing will benefit from the improvements they have been waiting for, all while the affordability and public ownership of their apartments is preserved. This is the kind of innovation critical to the long-term sustainability and maintenance of this city’s housing stock,” he said.
This announcement comes just weeks after the city settled a federal probe into the deplorable living conditions at the city’s 334 public housing developments in the form of a $2.2 billion payout and an agreement to a federal monitor.
