Inspiring a Compliance Culture!

Welcome to the Compliance Department’s first newsletter!

Who Are We?

The Compliance Department was created as part of the January 31, 2019 Agreement between NYCHA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  The department is led by Acting Chief Compliance Officer Daniel Greene and is made up of four units: Procedures, Monitoring, Compliance Integration Reporting and Evaluation, and Compliance Inquiry Review and Assessment.

The department’s mission is to ensure that NYCHA complies with all laws and regulations and is ethical in fulfilling its core obligation to provide safe, affordable housing to its residents. One of the main responsibilities of the department is to ensure the integrity of the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) inspections performed at NYCHA and to prevent deceptive practices with respect to PHAS inspections.

Compliance and PHAS Inspections

HUD requires that all federally assisted public housing properties be decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair at all times. To ensure that public housing authorities are meeting their obligations, HUD regularly inspects the physical conditions of public housing properties. HUD wants its PHAS inspections to accurately reflect NYCHA’s year-round operations and the conditions in which residents live. Therefore, it is important that NYCHA employees comply with HUD regulations and not perform extraordinary “just-in-time” repairs before a PHAS inspection to meet the minimum compliance requirements or to boost PHAS scores. “Just in time” repairs compromise the health and safety of residents. Instead, NYCHA’s focus must be on maintaining its developments up to standard at all times, since maintenance and repairs are year-round functions.

Preventing Deceptive Practices

Every employee is responsible for compliance at NYCHA. The success of a compliance program depends on the commitment of leadership and staff across all departments. We all must work together to spread the message that it is NEVER ACCEPTABLE to use deceptive practices when performing work or to interfere with a PHAS inspection in any way.

Examples of deceptive practices include:

• Covering up or hiding conditions that need repair, such as:
  • Concealing leaks by turning off the water,
  • Covering holes in walls with cardboard or wood, or
  • Directing staff to engage in such conduct
• Making false statements or deliberately omitting information in reporting
• Performing substandard repairs that do not meet industry standards
• Performing work in common areas after a HUD inspection begins, other than for emergency health and safety issues
• Performing work in units identified for HUD inspection, other than for emergency health and safety issues
• Submitting work orders and paperwork that inaccurately state that Exigent Health and Safety deficiencies identified during the PHAS inspection have been properly corrected when they have, in fact, not been properly corrected

Please help to change the culture of NYCHA. If you see anyone engaging in a deceptive practice or interfering with a PHAS inspection, you can make a confidential and anonymous report by calling the Customer Contact Center at (718) 707-7771 or by visiting the Compliance Department section of NYCHA’s website. Complaints can also be reported to any other federal, state, or local government entity.

Remember, the Compliance Department is here to help.

250 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
Contact us!