Over 59,000 NYCHA public housing apartment units are projected to be transferred to private landlords.
Data received anonymously reportedly shows which NYCHA public housing developments are part of Mayor de Blasio’s plans for the privatisation of the Local public housing authority.
By Progress New York Staff
Updated 03 Oct 2020 20:00 Progress New York has obtained data, which reportedly reveals which public housing developments owned by the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA, will be put into the hands of private landlords. In the interest of the public’s right to know, Progress New York has released this information.
The information was received from an anonymous source, who was motivated to share the information, in order for the public to know details about the privatisations being planned by the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City).
According to the information, the de Blasio administration plans to transfer 59,216 public housing apartments to private landlords. The information refers to the programme under which this transfer of public housing assets would take place as PACT, an Orwellian acronym for Permanent Affordability Commitment Together. PACT was an Agency code name used to replace Rental Assistance Demonstration, or RAD, the name of the official programme of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has steadily gained a negative connotation due to reports of rent increases, civil rights violations, and evictions.
Another Orwellian term used by the Agency in the obtained data, Build to Preserve, is a code name that replaces infill development, which has also gained a negative connotation, particularly during the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R-New York City), who had proposed the real estate development of children’s playgrounds, parking lots, lawns, and gardens. Under Build to Preserve, 3,694 apartments were slated to be constructed as infill development. According to the information obtained by Progress New York, the Build to Preserve plans were accurate as of May 2019.
According to a review of the information, the information was last updated in mid-2019, and it identifies which, of the 324 NYCHA public housing developments, are slated for some form of privatisation. The information indicates that 127 NYCHA public housing developments face transfer to private landlords under PACT/RAD.
The information has not been independently verified.
RAD Conversion of NYCHA by Congressional Districts in New York City
The New York City Congressional Delegation have been briefed on Mayor de Blasio’s plans.
One of the NYCHA public housing developments slated to receive infill development is Harborview Terrace, located in the gentrifying neighborhood of Hells Kitchen, in Manhattan.
Mayor de Blasio’s plans to privatise significant portions of public housing assets has generated controversy, social and legal. Community opposition has been rising against Mayor de Blasio’s plans. In two instances, litigation has commenced against elements of Mayor de Blasio’s plans. One such case remains pending in New York State Supreme Court regarding a plan for infill development at the Holmes Towers in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. In other case, pending before U.S. District Court in Manhattan, plaintiffs are seeking class-action status to oppose the Mayor’s disposition of public housing assets without a robust public review. In the latter case, plaintiffs also rejected efforts by Mayor de Blasio to manufacture consent for his privatisation plans. Mayor de Blasio has formed a NYCHA Working Group of tenants from Fulton Houses, Chelsea Houses, and Elliot Houses, which have been grouped. Left out of any participation or mention from the Mayor’s NYCHA Working Group has been Harborview Terrance, and dozens of other NYCHA public housing developments, which also face elements of privatisation.
In the face of Federal divestment of public housing, the New York City Congressional Delegation have attended meetings with NYCHA and have been briefed on Mayor de Blasio’s plans. The Congressional Districts with the highest number of planned RAD conversions are represented by : U.S. Reps. José Serrano (D-NY 15), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY 08), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY 13), and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY 07). Thus far, not one U.S. Representative have directly denounced Mayor de Blasio for having proposed the RAD conversion of NYCHA public housing.
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