Ask the Chair
Chair Russ Answers Your Questions
Every month, Chair Greg Russ will respond to questions from staff on topics like operations, the future of the agency, and how we’re overcoming everyday challenges. Have a question for Chair Russ about NYCHA? Send it to AsktheChair@nycha.nyc.gov and check back here to see if it was selected to be answered. Please be advised that featured questions will be published with the names of the employees who submitted them. Here is the selection for March:
From Metin Sarci, Partnerships Coordinator, Office of Public-Private Partnerships: “What does it take to be Chair of NYCHA?”
Chair Russ: “You have to take all your prior experience and knowledge and adapt them to the conditions and issues here at NYCHA and in New York City. All public housing authorities are local, with needs and challenges that are unique to each city. Listening to residents is really important because they know their neighborhoods and know clearly what needs to be done to improve their homes. And by engaging residents and valuing what they have to say, you build a relationship, a productive partnership. With large institutions like NYCHA, the tendency is to just let it run on the track it’s on. But you always have to keep in mind that it’s the families we serve – not the institution – and so you have to make the changes necessary to improve the organization as well as residents’ homes.”
