In virtually every interview our group and class have conducted, most tenants seem to be in agreement that NYCHA is more of permanent residence than a temporary fix. It just seems to be the social norm in theses situations to remain here after you’re children have moved out, you’ve received a pay raise, amongst other various changes. But this is not how public housing was originally conceived to be. Back in the mid-1960s, it was designed to act a springboard, where a family would need some time to get on its feet and public housing acted as that support.
But this has not been not been the case in recent years. While NYCHA has offered some incentives and benefits for residents, they have been targeted very heavily towards rental assistance, and not nearly enough towards getting residents out of the public housing cycle. Many people are reluctant to move out for a variety of reasons, such as not wanting to move out of a space they consider their home, the (obvious) affordability of apartments, and the community/relationships they form within their building/area. So how do you convince, or in some cases, make people escape this way of life? Let’s find out!
– Homelessness Feeds the Fire –
More people than ever are in need of public, affordable housing. Over 250,000 people are on the waiting list for affordable housing under NYCHA, and there is not enough turnover in residents moving out to accommodate everyone. As mentioned on our NextGeneration NYCHA tab, the de Blasio administration has been confronted with a tricky situation of the homeless population skyrocketing while shelters are not opening.
This is a colossal problem the city is facing, because homelessness is costing the city greatly. The New York Post recently reported a few snapshots of the tab the government is forced to pick up. On October 31, 2016, one day of housing homeless people in hotels cost $400,000. This increased to $540,000 on February 28, 2017, and to $648,000 on April 17, 2017. All three of these days were in the 40s for the temperature high. While these figures will probably dip due to the warmer months approaching, these astronomical numbers are doing a disservice to the city and its taxpayers. Moreover, it is estimated that 33% of the homeless population were housed in hotels. If shelters are unavailable, and at times undesirable, for homeless people to live in, affordable housing must be better utilized to suit these needs.
But if there is not a steady flow of people leaving public housing for homeless people and other people in need to have the chance to get back on their feet, the city’s costs are going to continue to skyrocket. So in order to maximize the current crisis the city is in, several policies need to be enacted to maximize the availability of public housing.
– Suggestions for a Springboard –
Our first suggestion is to implement a widespread professional development program. By virtue of the Trump administration’s harsh budget cuts to NYCHA, the de Blasio administration has been exploring opportunities to aid the organization in a time of need. One possibility they looked into was a philanthropic mission to have successful and celebrity alumni from New York’s public housing to donate money to NYCHA. Two of these alumni are the CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, and the former CEO of Xerox, Ursula Burns. However, the numbers show this would be like reattaching an amputated limb with a band-aid; not nearly enough revenue would be generated to really help a desperate NYCHA. Rather, we feel a professional development program would allow residents to search more actively for high paying jobs, which would allow them to move more quickly out of public housing. This professional development program could provide an array of services and benefits like resume building, special internship programs, and other elements of helping people get back on their feet. Additionally, it would readily prep residents for life after public housing, and help avoid homelessness which is a serious possibility if residents are not ready. By implementing this program, it will enrich the lives of New Yorkers in public housing instead of just thrusting money back into the system.
While professional development is not a very contentious topic, our next one is: the introduction of term limits. Implementing term limits for NYCHA would allow the get the resources they need, while providing a steady cycle of people moving out of public housing. It would also be beneficial for residents to receive some sort of incentive to move out faster, whether monetary or not. Find out more about time limits in our sub tabs: Leasing Term Limits and Benefits of Term Limits.
