The boss at NYCHA deserves support
Running a large organization is never easy. Managing a severely underfunded public agency, with 11,000 employees and 600,000 residents spread over 300 locations, is an especially tall order. So the disclosure that the New York City Housing Authority is not in compliance with every federal lead paint regulation should not be a call for condemnation.
This should be a moment to come together.
NYCHA manages by far the nation's largest inventory of publicly owned apartments for low-income tenants. The federal government, which funded the construction and operations of NYCHA buildings for more than 50 years, has dramatically reduced financial support of public housing during the past several decades.
Other cities responded to federal cutbacks by literally blowing up or privatizing their public housing. In New York, we recognized that the city could not afford to lose 180,000 affordable apartments. Through cost-cutting and deferred maintenance, cash infusions from state and local sources, and entrepreneurial efforts by authority management, NYCHA buildings have been kept in service.
Many would argue that large concentrations of low- and moderate-income tenants in deteriorating buildings with relatively high crime rates are inherently unmanageable. Especially after Hurricane Sandy, when flooding caused severe damage and loss of services in thousands of NYCHA apartments, it was easy to conclude that NYCHA should be broken up or its buildings sold off.
The inherent risks in continued public ownership and management of buildings where rents cover less than half the operating costs are enormous. The level of public scrutiny on NYCHA management is far greater than any private operator of housing has to put up with — witness the firestorm from missing one of 22 questions on a government form that is part of a 233-page submission.
Calls for the head of the authority’s highly competent CEO, Shola Olatoye, are evidence of the unrealistic expectations and highly political demands that NYCHA management faces, while simultaneously struggling with inadequate funding, overwhelming compliance requirements, rigid labor contracts, dilapidated buildings, and a tenancy characterized by severe economic and social challenges.
Under Olatoye’s leadership, NYCHA has reduced the response time to make apartment repairs from 15 days to only four. The authority implemented countless new initiatives to streamline, modernize and improve operations. Using technology, such as new handheld devices, they are saving money while improving customer service.
Additionally, with smart investments by the City, crime at NYCHA is decreasing and the city is safer. Strategic partnerships mean residents have increased access to job opportunities and career services. NYCHA has moved forward with new housing development on some of its properties that will both add affordable housing and bring some new revenues to support the existing buildings.
Very few people have the stamina, let alone the knowledge and skills, to manage a behemoth like NYCHA, plus put up with outlandish accusations about their competence and character.
Lead paint is a serious issue, no question, but the evidence shows that NYCHA management discovered last spring that there was an inspection compliance issue, promptly informed their federal regulator, and moved to take corrective action and ensure the safety of NYCHA residents. Evidence shows there’s no public health crisis that’s endangering kids.
This is not a story about a coverup. It’s a story about a responsible reaction by competent leadership.
But there’s more at stake here. NYCHA buildings currently require more than $17 billion in additional funding to carry out necessary repairs and to upgrade buildings that everyone agrees are in poor shape. It has become clear that, at least in the near term, the federal government will not be providing this funding. At the same time, state and city budgets are strained.
Focusing on the inevitable mistakes that will occur in management of a large organization may provide a “gotcha” moment for those who enjoy that exercise, but it contributes nothing to the far more important task of preservation and upgrading of the city’s best sources of below-market housing.