Quarterly Update from the CEO (Spring 2026)

Dear Colleagues, 

After a frigid winter, spring is finally here. I would like to thank all of you – especially the entire property management team – for working under difficult conditions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents during the season’s snowstorms. Additionally, our Operations Support Services staff continued to work around the clock, responding quickly to any service interruptions.  With the productivity that spring brings, let’s be reminded of the challenges we have been able to overcome and recommit to our mission of improving the quality of life in the NYCHA community. 

Personnel Updates 

Transformation remains our focus at the Authority, and that means we’re striving to strengthen our organization along with our buildings. In January, we announced recent leadership appointments that support our transformation efforts, including the following: 

• Nicole Van Gendt is now Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and First Deputy General Counsel. 

• Robin Yudkovitz has been appointed Senior Vice President of Human Resources. 

• Tony Maldonado has taken on the role of Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Management.  

• Shin Kim was appointed Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. 

• Heather Beck was appointed Deputy Chief of Real Estate Development.  

Additionally, I’m pleased to announce that Sarah Mallory was appointed Chief of Staff earlier this month. In this role, she works closely with senior leadership across the Authority to support the delivery of NYCHA and resident priorities. Before joining NYCHA, Sarah served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce, where she helped oversee 21 municipal agencies (including NYCHA). Previously, Sarah served as Chief of External Affairs for the NYC Vaccine Command Center, where she supported the largest public health campaign in the City’s history during the pandemic. She also served as Assistant Commissioner for Government Affairs at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and worked for the City Councils in both New York and Los Angeles. Sarah holds an MPA from New York University and a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles.  

Please join me in welcoming Sarah to the team. I’d also like to thank Annie Gurvis and Emma Vitaliano for serving as Interim Chief of Staff and Interim Deputy Chief of Staff, respectively. Emma will continue to hold the position of Interim Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the CEO.  

Investing in Our Buildings 

Did you know that we are completing more capital work annually than at any point in the Authority’s recent history? From 2021 through 2025, we invested over $5.1 billion in capital improvements across our portfolio, completing 810 construction projects and steadily increasing expenditures to $1.25 billion in 2025. For residents, this has meant new roofs, heating systems, elevators, resiliency measures, waste and pest management assets, and security infrastructure as well as upgraded apartments, playgrounds, sports courts, and community centers. And this work has created the equivalent of over 620 full-time jobs for low-income New Yorkers, including NYCHA residents. 

As part of the work to fundamentally redesign the way we deliver capital projects, we continue to focus on improving customer service and transparency, with tools such as our Capital Projects and Needs Tracker as well as regular communication with residents and other stakeholders about the projects in their communities. For instance, we conduct nearly 600 quarterly stakeholder meetings with property management and resident leadership each year via dedicated Property Liaison teams, in addition to over 5,000-project-specific stakeholder engagement touchpoints. In addition to providing residents with key information in a range of formats and languages, we also solicit feedback from residents via surveys at multiple points on every project. Learn more about all these efforts here. 

NYCHA Is Now a “Standard Performer” 

While we’re putting the limited federal funding available to good use through strategic investments in our buildings, we’re also improving the ways we operate. I’m proud to report that HUD recently designated NYCHA as a “standard performer,” up from its previous rating as “substandard.” This designation is based on our 2024 Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) scores, which measure public housing authorities’ performance across the key areas of physical conditions, financial health, operational efficiency, and capital investments. I commend all of you for your efforts which contributed to this achievement – the obstacles are many, but we are truly setting the Authority on a stronger and more sustainable path. 

PACT Progress 

We are also making extraordinary progress with investing in, and preserving, public housing through our PACT program – and we are on track to meet our ultimate goal of bringing comprehensive repairs and upgrades, along with enhanced property management and social services, to a total of more than 142,000 residents through this powerful initiative. Currently, more than 44,000 apartments across 169 developments are in pre-development, under construction, or have completed renovation through PACT, representing over $16 billion in capital repairs and upgrades to date. 

Connect with the CEO 

As part of our “Coffee with the CEO” series, I meet informally with small groups of employees from across the Authority to discuss how we can work together more effectively to achieve our goals as an organization. If you’d like to participate, please complete the information here. Participants are chosen randomly, and you’ll be contacted if you are selected.    

 Do you have a general question about NYCHA? You can send your questions to AsktheCEO@nycha.nyc.gov and check NYCHANow and Connect to see if they were selected to be answered as part of our “Ask the CEO” column. Please be advised that featured questions will be published with the names of the employees who submitted them.    

I look forward to making more strides with you and continuing our progress in service to the NYCHA community! 

Sincerely, 

Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Chief Executive Officer