NYCHA Gets an “A” for Its Section 8 Program

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded NYCHA’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program its highest designation for outstanding performance, underscoring NYCHA’s efficiency and effectiveness administering Section 8.

“This designation demonstrates how we are succeeding in fundamentally changing how we do business and becoming more efficient,” said Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye. “NYCHA’s Section 8 program provides housing and opportunity for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who otherwise could not afford to call this city home.”

“Running the largest Section 8 program in the nation’s tightest rental market is no easy task,” said Holly Leicht, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey.

NYCHA received a Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) score of 93 percent for meeting HUD’s standards for program management in 2015, which indicates improved customer service for both Section 8 residents and landlords.

SEMAP measures performance in 14 key areas, including proper selection of applicants from the waiting list, performing quality-control inspections to ensure housing meets all standards, budget utilization, accuracy of income and rent calculations, and ensuring that all available housing vouchers are used.