The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Discussion Thread

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

Welcome to The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Discussion Thread. In an effort to devise potential solutions to correct NYCHA's most persistent deficiencies, this is an opportunity to publicly share your thoughts while maintaining your anonymity. For years, numerous developments under NYCHA ownership have physically deteriorated due to NYCHA's failure to deploy employees to make crucial repairs. Tenants are consequently forced to live in hazardous conditions as thousands of apartments suffer exceptional mold damage, paint containing toxic levels of lead, and an absence of heat due to aged, outdated boiler systems. From a social perspective, NYCHA has seemed to have taken a step backward by allowing individuals with violent criminal convictions into developments to preserve family unity, a move that only compartmentalizes crime in developments further. The term "projects" is commonly associated with NYCHA's developments—a branding that holds a dark reputation in being synonymous with community ghettos paralyzed by widespread crime and poverty. In face of NYCHA resides two obstacles: their lack of activity in securing physically-sound developments for their tenants and the lifestyle they enable by allowing convicts with felonies to take shelter within their grounds, further excacerbating crime and poverty that gave NYCHA their name as we know. Share your experience with any of NYCHA's developments and include any feedback you deem critical to improve life for tenants, even if it may seem too minuscule to make traction.

Edited March 7, 2018 by AlgorithmOfTruth

[Via Garibaldi 8]

NYCHA needs to be dissolved.  Those housing projects are money pits and those buildings will only become worse as time goes on.  The City can't afford to keep throwing money at those buildings, which is why they are quietly trying to sell of land and so on that involves them.  The buildings are essentially well past their time and the situation won't improve given the fiscal constraints of all parties involved.

[Q43LTD]

I don't mean to necropost, but isn't that affordable housing program supposed to get rid of NYCHA so to speak?

[Interested Rider]

If anything, the two barking dogs (Cuomo and DeBlasio) who were in charge of Housing and Urban Development under Bill Clinton should take full responsibility for the condition that public housing is in today.. Cuomo was the secretary of HUD and DeBlasio was in charge of the New York region. Neither of them did  anything to help the developments at the most critical juncture and both the tenants and the developments are paying the price today.

If you ask many of the long time residents that was the time to sell the apartments to the tenants so that the developments would have had money to do the repairs that had to be done at that time not 20 years later. By selling the apartments to the tenants (for example a junior 4 room apartment for $60,000 ) many of the tenants would have bought their apartments as it was an investment that in many areas would appreciate in value. Those that did not want to buy their apartment would have been able to stay until they vacated the apartment at which time the apartment would have been sold. It is my opinion that many of the people living in the various developments would have found the money to buy, the apartments as at that time as it was a good investment. it was a win-win  situation for both the authority and the tenants as painting, kitchen cabinets, appliances and the bathrooms would have been fixed up by the tenants as tenants want to make money when they sell the apartment. One of the things that the tenants would have gotten rid of is the heating system that predates Moses as each and every tenant owner would have not tolerated a system that does not allow for individual controls for individual units that allows for heating many of the lower floor apartments to unhealthy levels at all hours.  

Alas, it was not to be for both of these crybabies knew what they were doing as both of them at that time aspired for higher office and knew that they needed their real estate buddies who wanted many of the housing authority sites and having tenant ownership of the apartments meant that the real estate moguls if they wanted the buildings would have to buy them out at current prices which for the tenants would have been a substantial profit over the original investment. These two knew (and know) what they are doing and when the receiver is appointed, all their vulture real-estate friends will be waiting in the wings for the first opportunity to buy many of the developments and demolish the buildings. Cuomo and DeBalsio will get their campaign donations at the expense of the residents in the public housing developemts.

 

 

 

 

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

On 12/12/2018 at 1:06 PM, Q43LTD said:

I don't mean to necropost, but isn't that affordable housing program supposed to get rid of NYCHA so to speak?

Are you referring to NYC Housing Connect by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development?

[Q43LTD]

19 minutes ago, AlgorithmOfTruth said:

Are you referring to NYC Housing Connect by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development?

Yes I am

Edited December 15, 2018 by Q43LTD

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

45 minutes ago, Q43LTD said:

Yes I am

From what I've seen, it's possible for NYCHA tenants to move into some of the apartments offered on NYC Housing Connect. I've come across a few applications where the minimum annual income requirement was just $15,000. As for it being an effective strategy in displacing NYCHA tenants... I don't believe so. The majority of the apartment buildings listed on NYC Housing Connect have annual income requirements above what the average NYCHA tenant can afford (>$30,000).

[Interested Rider]

The city and the Federal government "kicked the can down the road" as they need more time to develop a full funding source for the authority.

It seems that both HUD and the city want to keep the power in the hands of the city, not place it in either the hands of the Federal Government or give the power to a receiver.

 

 

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

On 12/16/2018 at 8:14 AM, Interested Rider said:

The city and the Federal government "kicked the can down the road" as they need more time to develop a full funding source for the authority.

It seems that both HUD and the city want to keep the power in the hands of the city, not place it in either the hands of the Federal Government or give the power to a receiver.

 

 

Privitization of NYCHA?

[GregoryCooper]

This is really going in a bad direction and things are getting worse. Some of my relatives suffered a lot because of what happened and we left the city because of some financial issues. Now residing in Concord we remodeled our old house there with the help of the remodeling team Home Quality Remodeling who are very good friends of ours. I want to know further updates and I will surely contribute anything in my hands.

[Interested Rider]

Nothing new on NYCHA as the top position still has not been filled by the Mayor's office.

My opinion is that all of the hot air produced by the city, its officials and media was to get more federal funds to bail out the authority. HUD and the president did not bite as it is a city problem and why help New York City (and New York State) when the top elected officials and those in the legislature are only interested in going after the president for his tax returns or for this and that thing that happened before he took office. The president knows that no matter what he will do to placate these individuals they will still vote against him in the presidential election, so the odds of winning the state are slim and none.

What disturbs me more than anything else is that the individuals who talk about the federal government helping NYCHA are the same ones that are responsible for the problem in the first place and should be held accountable.  They were in charge of HUD and this area under Clinton where there was talk of selling the apartments to the tenants in many of the developments. Just think if this had happened in the trendy neighborhoods of the five boroughs where the tenants who now were owners could have sold their apartments for a nice profit which unfortunately  will never happen as the two of them (Cuomo and deBlasio)  did not want to do as it would not help fund their useless campaigns for office (or for that matter, higher office).

The end result is nothing will be done as the media is not interested as neither is the political  establishment as to them it is a non-story. A couple of months from now, we will read a one column item in one of the local papers that will be forgotten about the next day.

[SubwayFan3000]

Is NYC Housing Projects being Demolished? that would make more people homeless, Moms especially Single Mothers with 1-6 Kids would be without Home, Poors, Veterans, Refugees, Immigrants and etc.

 

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

On 3/9/2018 at 10:25 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

NYCHA needs to be dissolved.  Those housing projects are money pits and those buildings will only become worse as time goes on.  The City can't afford to keep throwing money at those buildings, which is why they are quietly trying to sell of land and so on that involves them.  The buildings are essentially well past their time and the situation won't improve given the fiscal constraints of all parties involved.

"Giving money to NYCHA is like throwing it out of a window."

 - Andrew M. Cuomo, 56th Governor of New York State

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

17 hours ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

"Giving money to NYCHA is like throwing it out of a window."

- Andrew M. Cuomo, 56th Governor of New York State

From what I know, the mismanagement of funds necessary for deferred maintenance is the cause behind that statement.

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

NYCHA is unlikely to survive. I bet that by the time de Wilhelm is out of office, there will be 101K homeless, with 400K (evicted NYCHA tenants) on the way. It's a sad prospect, but y'all need to escape New York. Again. 

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

On 7/13/2019 at 9:12 PM, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

NYCHA is unlikely to survive. I bet that by the time de Wilhelm is out of office, there will be 101K homeless, with 400K (evicted NYCHA tenants) on the way. It's a sad prospect, but y'all need to escape New York. Again. 

NYCHA court proceedings tend to drag on and ultimately end up allowing the tenant(s) to remain so as long they aren't violating any conditions set forth. More often than not, they try to keep families together, rather than break them apart. There are controversial policies that permit convicted felons (usually fathers) to return home after prison release to be reunited with their families. If it means having both a mother and father at home to raise their children I'm all for it, but that's rarely the case in the projects. When I started this thread I should've emphasized that I'm specifically against admitting felons back into public housing who demonstrate a consistent inability to stay out of trouble after they've been discharged. Not all who have been behind bars are incapable of being rehabilitated. There are many success stories out there. Evicting hundreds of thousands of NYCHA tenants won't solve the problem. That'd accomplish nothing but saturate the shelters.

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

1 hour ago, AlgorithmOfTruth said:

NYCHA court proceedings tend to drag on and ultimately end up allowing the tenant(s) to remain so as long they aren't violating any conditions set forth. More often than not, they try to keep families together, rather than break them apart. There are controversial policies that permit convicted felons (usually fathers) to return home after prison release to be reunited with their families. If it means having both a mother and father at home to raise their children I'm all for it, but that's rarely the case in the projects. When I started this thread I should've emphasized that I'm specifically against admitting felons back into public housing who demonstrate a consistent inability to stay out of trouble after they've been discharged. Not all who have been behind bars are incapable of being rehabilitated. There are many success stories out there. Evicting hundreds of thousands of NYCHA tenants won't solve the problem. That'd accomplish nothing but saturate the shelters.

My concern is that the buildings will be so degraded, they won't be safe for habitation and that will be used as the justification for eviction.

I believe that felons who do their time should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they have learned. The system makes it hard for them to reintegrate, and I believe that is by design.

Personally, I believe NYCHA residents need to flee New York City, even if it's costly. They'll have more troubles if they stay. Someone is attacking the city's infrastructure, and they know what they're doing. They need to GET OUT.

[B35 via Church]

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 1:06 PM, Q43LTD said:

I don't mean to necropost, but isn't that affordable housing program supposed to get rid of NYCHA so to speak?

From what I get from it, it's supposed to supplant it....

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 8:19 PM, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

I believe that felons who do their time should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they have learned. The system makes it hard for them to reintegrate, and I believe that is by design.....

It's absolutely by design; the PIC (prison industrial complex) is real.