Mayor de Blasio has been actively seeking a strategy to solve the affordable housing issue, but has amassed more setbacks than successes during his first term. Early 2015 saw a simultaneous halt in shelter openings and a skyrocketing homeless population. The de Blasio administration relied on positive estimates focused on new rental subsidy programs to slow the stream of people needing emergency shelter. Unfortunately this backfired, and the drawing board was revisited time and time again.
Quests for philanthropic aid, building more housing units, and other somewhat plausible yet risky options have been drawn from his administration’s arsenal of solutions. However, a looming mayoral race this November has the ability to force these ideas to a screeching halt. This being said, it is far easier for critics to chastise the mayor over his lackluster results than to propose working answers to the problems.
Since his election campaign, Mayor de Blasio has declared himself a champion of NYCHA. His largest policy unveiling has been that of NextGeneration NYCHA, a 10-year plan to preserve and protect public housing throughout the city.
– Achieve, Stabilize & Diversify Funding –
Dismantle PILOT
NYCHA currently pays approximately $30 million to the City each year in lieu of property taxes, an outdated policy from 1949 that has cost NYCHA around one-third of its operating deficit. Were the City to terminate this policy agreement, known as PILOT payments, NYCHA would diminish its deficit and reinvest the money into its budget.
Collect Rent & Fees
At the end of 2014, NYCHA was owed over $54 million in back rent and fees. The average monthly collection rate is approximately 74 percent. 32,000 households are currently one month behind in rent, and 22,000 households are more than one month behind. Still, NYCHA evicts only 0.12 percent of households for failing to pay rent. NYCHA’s rent and fee payment process is easy to access online, by phone, by mail, and/or through direct deduction. Residents can pay by check, cash, money order, debit, or transfer of funds.
NYCHA has begun to mail rent statements earlier to give residents more time to respond, as well as redesigned documents to be more clear and concise. They are instituting bilingual robocalls and payment reminders and making financial counseling more available.
Maximize Space
Ground Floor
NYCHA is notorious for having an abundance of open space within its developments. To better utilize this empty space, as well as connect developments to their surrounding neighborhoods, NYCHA has collaborated with Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates to plan the development of green spaces on NYCHA property.
The plans include:
- Street-facing installations
- Vibrant outdoor spaces
- Pedestrian walkways
- Street grid design
- Increased use of signage, glass, and transparent materials for aesthetic purposes
- Landscaping for storm resiliency
- Crime Prevention through Environmental Design
Non-Residential Space
NYCHA’s goals include the maximizing available space, bringing back spaces that have become unused, improving the look of ground floor developments, providing services for residents, lowering costs, and generating revenue. The plans include:
- Leasing retail space
- Maintaining vacancy ~5%
- Conducting inventory of NYCHA-owned spaces
- Generating at least $1 million in revenues by 2025 through increased leasing of non-residential spaces
Parking
NYCHA charges an average of $6.80 per month for unreserved parking and $26.33 per month for reserved parking. They plan to increase their monthly parking charges to local market rates to residents. For non-residents, NYCHA will charge the full market rate, which is 12 times greater than what NYCHA currently charges its residents.
Reduce Central Office Costs
NYCHA performs the functions of other New York City agencies within itself–it is separate from other central offices within the city government. 22 percent of NYCHA’s employees are central office staff. NYCHA must transfer the responsibilities of central office functions to the City agencies that perform similar functions. It is not economically efficient to run the same processes that other offices run already. NYCHA aims to reduce central office staff by approximately 1,000 by 2019. This will save approximately $90 million. NYCHA will need less space and fewer supplies, reducing indirect costs.
– Operate As An Efficient & Effective Landlord –
Leveraging Technology
Customer Service
NYCHA is progressing toward completely replacing outdated rent collection systems.They must replace paper functions, manual functions, and duplicative functions to be more efficient and eco-friendly. They have even tested a mobile app, MyNYCHA.
Records Management
NYCHA will digitize over 200,000 paper folders and files–first human resource documents, then property management files. This will save millions of dollars, including 50 percent savings on labor costs, as well as provide more accessibility.
“Smart” Buildings
By definition, “smart” buildings are buildings whose systems can be integrated, monitored, controlled, and even repaired remotely. By 2025, NYCHA plans to be a technologically savvy organization, with well-integrated financial, human resources, resident, and building management systems.
Optimal Property Management Operating Model (OPMOM)
NYCHA is a highly centralized and highly bureaucratic institution. Instead of top-down decision-making, NYCHA wants to empower property managers to make decisions. NYCHA launched OPMOM as a pilot in 18 developments in January 2015.
Over the first three months, NYCHA tracked maintenance and emergency work orders, occupancy rate and unit turnaround time, resident rent and fee collection rates. The results reflected an effective test. The rent collection rate increased by over 12 percent, as both apartment turnaround and emergency service hours dropped substantially by days and hours, respectively. NYCHA plans to revise policies and procedures to reflect OPMOM practices in every development.
Reduce NYCHA’s Carbon Footprint
Existing Conditions
- 190,000 tons of solid waste generated by residents per year
- 15.5 percent of developments have designated recycling areas and bins
- $309 million in utility costs – water and energy
- $200 million of Sandy-related repairs and clean-up
NYCHA plans to work with the Department of Sanitation to achieve full compliance of recycling law. They will make recycling bins available and designate recycling areas. NYCHA has announced a plan for a series of Energy Performance Contracts to finance costs of energy efficiency improvements. Aided by FEMA funding, NYCHA will work to finally fix the last of Sandy-related repairs.
Increase Safety & Security
NYCHA has invested over $210 million to improve safety throughout the developments. These plans include:
- New lighting towers to improve visibility in public spaces
- Hiring one thousand youth through employment programs
- Extending community center hours
- Linking residents to domestic violence support services
- More law enforcement resources on the ground
– Build, Expand & Preserve Affordable Housing –
Capital Planning
More than 60 percent of NYCHA’s buildings are 50 years or older. Over the last five years, NYCHA has an unmet capital need of almost $17 billion to upgrade its facilities. The goal of the capital strategy created under NextGeneration NYCHA is to effectively use limited funds to manage each development in terms of what is needed specifically in each one. NYCHA will also seek funding from the City and State of New York to fix building exteriors.
Building New Units
NYCHA plans to use a transparent resident engagement process at new developments, where all stakeholders can have an input and make decisions. New developments will focus on the following:
- Not displacing existing residents
- Minimizing carbon footprint
- Leaving sight-lines open between front doors and public sidewalks
Plans for East Harlem Center for Living and Learning at Washington Houses. Source: Harlem RBI
NYCHA aims to require 50 percent affordable housing and 50 percent market rate housing in new developments. Two developments, Washington Houses in Harlem and Forest Houses in the Bronx, will transform unused land into mixed-use housing and retail space.
Design Excellence
NYCHA’s exteriors are deteriorated, aged, and outdated. There have been many code violations and unsafe conditions as a result of budget shortfalls. NextGeneration NYCHA seeks to implement the following design principles:
- Integrating NYCHA with the surrounding communities
- Creating safe, accessible, and attractive housing
- Building facilities that are durable, easy to maintain, and of high quality
- Attracting premier designers, architects, and engineers to work with NYCHA\
- Activating the ground floor
– Engage & Connect Residents –
Philanthropy
NYCHA will create a nonprofit 501(c)(3) affiliate called the Fund for Public Housing (The Fund) to support a new, partnership-based model. The goals of The Fund are as follows:
- Eliminating financial burden
- Investing in new and existing partnerships to create networks for residents
- Increasing flexibility and innovation of services
Workforce
The average annual household income of NYCHA residents in $23,000. Residents lack access to workforce, educational, and other services to help them become ready to enter the workforce. NYCHA is subject to a HUD policy known as Section 3, which aims to foster local economic development, neighborhood economic improvement, and individual self-sufficiency. NYCHA employs its residents to reach the federal Section 3 requirements. NYCHA plans to double workforce opportunities for residents, with the goal of connecting 4,000 residents to jobs annually by 2025. They will expand their Resident Employment Program by using The Fund, as well as create new jobs within new projects.
