The Elected Officials’ Guide to NYCHA
NYCHA’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations (known as “Intergov”) acts as a liaison between the Authority and elected officials at all levels (city, state, and federal). The Intergov team works with elected officials to craft legislation, organize capital funding, and make sure their constituents have safe, clean, and connected homes.
Intergov partners with a variety of NYCHA departments to conduct webinars that keep elected officials and their staff informed about the latest policies and programs at the Authority. In the last two years, the webinars have covered smoke-free NYCHA, resident associations, Sandy recovery and resiliency work, the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, rent collection, recycling, the pest extermination pilot program, federal policies, capital projects, annual budget updates, and more.
On January 30, Intergov is hosting an in-person workshop, “NYCHA 101.” It will provide new staff members of elected officials (or those seeking a refresher) with information on fundamental NYCHA topics like applying for public housing and Section 8, rent calculation, requesting repairs and maintenance, transfer policies, and succession rights (the instances in which apartment leases may be passed along to family members).
Intergov Legislative Coordinator Josephine Bartlett reports that, “Elected officials want to be kept up to date on everything NYCHA. Some examples are information on heat outages, rent for a particular apartment, or details on a development project.”
It’s not a large team, but it’s an important one – meet its members below: Deputy Director Jennifer Montalvo, Legislative Coordinator Annie McGee, State Legislative Affairs Officer Marcela Medina (standing, left to right), Director Brian Honan, Legislative Coordinator Josephine Bartlett, and Legislative Coordinator Ebony Johnson (seated, left to right).
