It’s Fire Prevention Week

The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week – Fire won’t wait; plan your escape – highlights the importance of creating a home fire escape plan. In observation of this national event and to promote your family’s safety, NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department would like to provide the following information. NYCHA Fire Safety Notice:          … MORE

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Mayor Adams Honors NYCHA Employee for Supporting Resident Associations

It’s not every day that one gets singled out by the mayor of New York City for doing a great job. But earlier this month, Mayor Eric Adams honored Jacqueline Howard, a 32-year veteran NYCHA employee, for her work as project coordinator in the Resident Participation & Civic Engagement department. The ceremony took place at… MORE

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Advancing NYCHA’s Transformation Plan with an Updated Leadership Structure

Dear Colleagues, Over the last several years, we have made significant changes across NYCHA. As part of NYCHA’s Transformation and Implementation Plans, earlier this year the Board amended NYCHA’s by-laws to separate the roles of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chair of the Board of Directors. This leadership model is what we have been working toward… MORE

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NYCHA Distributed Welcome Baby Bags to Expecting Families

More than 205 bags with baby essentials and toys were distributed to NYCHA families who registered their expecting status through the Authority’s Self-Service Portal. NYCHA’s Resident Engagement Department, in cooperation with Health Initiatives and the Fund for Public Housing (the Fund), partnered with Baby2Baby and Moms for Moms to purchase, assemble, and deliver door to… MORE

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Meet the EHS Lead Oversight Team (LOT)

NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department’s (EHS) Lead Oversight Team (LOT) oversees all lead-based paint (LBP) activities to identify, prevent, or correct any non-compliance with the applicable requirements. The team consists of three U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified Risk Assessors who are led by a certified Field Supervisor. As part of NYCHA’s Lead Compliance Assurance program,… MORE

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NYCHA Conducts Coastal Storm Preparedness Tabletop Exercise

On August 4, NYCHA’s Emergency Management and Services Department conducted a coastal storm preparedness tabletop exercise with Operations’ borough vice presidents and neighborhood administrators at the Emergency Operations Center in Long Island City. The tabletop exercise and dialogue with Operations leadership was designed to provide a better understanding of preparedness issues or gaps that impact… MORE

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NYC Selected as Finalist for C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Award, Spotlighting NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda

Recognizing its leadership in addressing climate change, New York City was selected as one of 20 finalists for the 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Award. The awards celebrate the most ambitious and impactful projects or programs spearheaded by cities from around the world to tackle the climate crisis. The theme of this year’s awards is… MORE

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The Clean Energy Academy Will Prepare Residents for Green Careers

The Fund for Public Housing (the Fund) and NYCHA, in partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), National Grid, New York Power Authority (NYPA), Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, NorthLight Foundation, and Rise Light & Power, recently announced the launch of the Clean Energy Academy. Over two years, the $2… MORE

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NYCHA Plumber Organizes Workshops for Girls

“Jobs don’t have genders,” says Judaline Cassidy, who first picked up plumbing tools 25 years ago and has been working in the industry ever since. Five years ago, she founded Tools and Tiaras, a non-profit committed to advancing the participation of females in traditionally male-dominated industries such as electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and auto mechanic trades.… MORE

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$70M Initial Investment Will Decarbonize NYCHA Buildings with New Electric Heat Pumps

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams joined the NYCHA, New York Power Authority (NYPA), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to announce the Clean Heat for All Challenge (#CleanHeat4All or #CH4A) — making an initial $70 million investment in the development and production of 30,000 new heat pump units for use in New York City public housing facilities.

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NYCHA’s “M/WBE In Action” Virtual Procurement Fair

NYCHA’s “M/WBE In Action” virtual event was hosted by the Authority’s Supply Management and Procurement Department on July 13, 2022, with over 100 City-certified Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) firms from various industries in attendance. “M/WBE In Action” commemorated the one-year anniversary of the launch of NYCHA’s formal M/WBE program and was the first… MORE

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Making a Difference 

Meet Ernesto Rodriguez, Administrative Training Coordinator at Learning & Development’s Maintenance Training Center Whenever Ernesto Rodriguez goes to a NYCHA development, he recognizes most of the property management and maintenance staff – because he trained them. Mr. Rodriguez is the Administrator of HR’s Maintenance Training Center, which equips assistant superintendents, superintendents, and field staff with… MORE

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NYCHA Employee Elected Treasurer of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association

Raquel Miranda, Agency Attorney in NYCHA’s Law Department, was recently elected Treasurer of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association (BWBA). The BWBA was established more than a century ago by nine women lawyers to achieve equality, diversity, fairness, and opportunities for women. It is affiliated with the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York… MORE

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NYCHA Begins Design and Construction of State-of-the-Art Pneumatic Waste Collection System at Polo Grounds Towers

On Thursday, June 30, NYCHA officially gave a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to a construction team comprised of Navillus Contracting, Dewberry Engineers Inc., Marvel Architects, Landscape Architects, Urban Designers, PLLC, and Atreo (Pneumatic Waste Collection Systems), for work on a $31 million large-scale installation of a pneumatic waste collection system that will serve the NYCHA… MORE

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Nominate Yourself or a Colleague for a Safety Award

​In celebration of National Safety Month, which is every June, NYCHA is re-launching the Safety Awards Program. This year’s theme is “Safety Starts with Me,” which reaffirms the Authority’s commitment to preventing workplace injuries and to promoting workplace safety awareness. NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) is accepting nominations for the NYCHA Safety Awards… MORE

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Meet Antonia Zambrano, Assistant Director of LHD Central Office Operations

Twenty-three years ago, Antonia Zambrano submitted her resume at a job fair and shortly after became a NYCHA employee. Starting out as a Bilingual Housing Assistant for the Leased Housing Department, she is now the Assistant Director of the Leased Housing Department’s Central Office Operations. All of the positions Ms. Zambrano has held at the… MORE

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Spotlight on NYCHA’s Chinese-American Association

The Chinese-American Association (CAA) is one of many employee associations at NYCHA. The association was created almost three decades ago to promote Chinese language and culture and to strengthen bonds among co-workers. Currently, the CAA has more than 200 members, including several retired employees who remain active in the association.  In May, the CAA observed… MORE

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Governor Signs Legislation Establishing the Public Housing Preservation Trust

On June 16, Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation S.9409-A /A.7805-D establishing the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust and paving the way for the overdue repair, rehabilitation, and modernization of 25,000 apartments under control of the New York City Housing Authority. Governor Hochul signed the bills alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Assembly Member Steven… MORE

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Meet Cherry McCutchen, Director of Learning and Development

June is National Pride Month, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall uprising and recognizes the impact and contributions of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+). In honor of Pride Month, we’re highlighting the work of NYCHA’s LGBTQ+ employees.    “I’m ‘Cherry.’ I don’t ascribe to labels or pronouns. If someone asks how… MORE

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NYCHA Celebrates New Community Garden at Manhattanville Houses

NYCHA has a long-standing commitment to fostering resident access to green spaces at its developments. A 2017 survey of NYCHA gardens, conducted by the NYC Parks Department’s GreenThumb program, counted 595 gardens at 146 NYCHA developments. One recent community garden was created at Manhattanville Houses in West Harlem by former NYCHA residents in partnership with… MORE

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Indoor Air Quality at NYCHA

NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department’s Indoor Air Quality Oversight Team (IAQOT) identifies and addresses hazards that impact air quality, such as mold, leaks, asbestos, toxic gases, and other airborne contaminants. The IAQOT includes one administrator and five specialists, who perform a range of health hazards investigations and oversight of mold remediations to ensure that… MORE

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$434 Million in Comprehensive Renovations Completed at 9 Developments

Resident Association Leaders, PACT Partners Deliver Comprehensive Apartment Upgrades, Renovated Community Spaces, and Infrastructure Enhancements That Will Improve Public Safety and Quality of Life for More Than 6,000 Brooklynites On May 20, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel, NYCHA Chair and CEO Greg… MORE

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Meet the OEM Field Coordinators Team

NYCHA’s Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) Field Coordinators program improves the coordination of response efforts to emergency incidents across the Authority. Before becoming a permanent program, the initiative was launched in 2019 as a six-month pilot program, with 12 on-call field coordinators managing day-to-day communications between different responding departments (and, in some cases, other City agencies).… MORE

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Celebrating Graduates of NYCHA’s Construction Training

Sixteen NYCHA residents recently graduated from the NYCHA Resident Training Academy’s (NRTA) construction training. The training was conducted by the Business & Industry Workforce Training Center at CUNY’s New York City College of Technology. The NRTA is a collaboration among NYCHA, the Robin Hood Foundation, and a variety of premier training providers in New York… MORE

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NYCHA’s Mattress Recycling Featured in Circular City Week

On May 3, NYCHA’s mattress recycling program, NYC’s first and only mattress recycling program, was discussed during Circular City Week, an open collaborative festival dedicated to topics about circular economy (that is, an economy where goods are reused and recycled as much as possible). Circular City Week is the biggest circular economy festival in the… MORE

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Preschoolers at Smith Houses Compost Food Scraps

The Hamilton-Madison House preschool, located at NYCHA’s Smith Houses in Manhattan, installed a compost bin so preschoolers can compost food scraps from their lunches and snacks. The bin was established with funding from City Council Member Christopher Marte and is maintained by Earth Matter, a non-profit dedicated to advancing composting in the metropolitan area. The… MORE

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Discussing Data Sharing with NYCHA’s Chief Information Officer

NYCHA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Patti Bayross recently participated in City & State’s Creating a Culture of Data Sharing panel, which brought together data and information leaders in public service to discuss how to foster a data-sharing culture in government.   Ms. Bayross spoke about how information technology and data sharing at… MORE

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Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit Available for NYCHA Residents

NYCHA residents from Harlem, the Upper East Side, and Queens can now check their prostate health at the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit. The mobile van – which is the result of collaboration between NYCHA, the “One Hundred Black Men” non-profit, and Mount Sinai’s Department of Urology – was launched… MORE

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NYCHA’s Waste Calculator to Efficiently Manage Waste and Increase Recycling

Waste management is one of the most complex challenges that NYCHA faces. Since the release of NYCHA’s 2.0 Waste Management Plan in 2019 and NYCHA’s new Sustainability Agenda in 2021, NYCHA is making comprehensive changes to its waste management practices and infrastructure. One outcome of these changes has been the NYCHA Waste Calculator. NYCHA generates… MORE

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$72 Million of Heating System Improvements Coming to Marble Hill and Berry Houses

On April 19, NYCHA and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced the start of construction on energy-efficient heating upgrades at Marble Hill Houses in the Bronx and Berry Houses on Staten Island. The $72 million projects will provide greater heat and hot water service for more than 4,000 residents across 2,100 public housing apartments… MORE

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NYCHA Chair Russ Discusses Housing Preservation at Crain’s Power Breakfast

On April 6, NYCHA’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Russ was interviewed by Crain’s New York Business Editor-in-Chief Cory Schouten as part of this year’s first “Crain’s Power Breakfast.” Approximately 150 business and nonprofit executives and government leaders attended the event, including Jessica Katz, the City’s Chief Housing Officer. Chair Russ discussed how a… MORE

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13 NYCHA-owned Houses to Be Rehabilitated and Sold to Low- and Moderate-income New Yorkers

Sixteen eligible families will have an opportunity to purchase their first home through “Habitat Net Zero,” a project bringing long-term affordable homeownership opportunities to Southeast Queens. Through the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Open Door program, 13 vacant, dilapidated, previously NYCHA-owned houses will be rehabilitated into 16 new Passive House standards homes… MORE

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Meet Kimberly Taylor, Director of Public Housing Tenancy Operations

Kimberly Taylor, who grew up at Manhattan’s Johnson Houses, is now the Authority’s Director of Public Housing Tenancy Operations. But when her NYCHA career journey began nearly four decades ago, she was an Emergency Services Aide in the Emergency Services Department (ESD). Back then, in 1984, work tickets were written out by hand and then… MORE

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Free Internet Installed at 3 NYCHA Developments

On March 26, three Manhattan NYCHA developments – Riis, Wald, and Baruch Houses – celebrated the launch of free internet service for residents provided by Flume Internet. The initiative is part of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households with a discount on broadband service and connected devices. ACP seeks to ensure that… MORE

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Women’s History Month: A Spotlight on Women at NYCHA

This year’s National Women’s History theme, “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless and vital work of caregivers and front-line workers (especially during a pandemic) as well as a recognition of the countless ways that women have provided healing and hope throughout history. We’d like to honor the contributions to… MORE

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NYCHA’s Chief Information Officer Talks About Our Tech

NYCHA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Patti Bayross recently participated in City & State’s 2022 Digital New York Summit, which brought together technology and information leaders for thought-provoking conversations about their work. Ms. Bayross was part of a panel titled “Using Technology to Impact our Communities,” which provided her the opportunity to present… MORE

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Green City Force Graduates its 22nd Cohort of NYCHA Residents

In March, Green City Force (GCF) celebrated the graduation of its 22nd Cohort via Zoom, 22 members who began their service to NYCHA communities during the pandemic. GCF is an AmeriCorps program that provides NYCHA residents ages 18 to 24 with full-time service projects, training, and education on sustainability and green technologies, as well as… MORE

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NYCHA Observes World Water Day

March 22 is World Water Day, an opportunity to reflect on the importance of access to safe, fresh water. Stormwater management solutions, for example, are a vital part of NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda, and several initiatives focused on this important work are currently underway. One of them is NYCHA’s  Climate Adaptation Plan, which outlines the Authority’s approach to… MORE

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Chair Russ Featured on “YIMBY Nation” Podcast

NYCHA’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer Greg Russ was recently featured in an episode of “YIMBY Nation,” a podcast hosted by Jimmy Lee Miller, Vincencia Adusei, and Peter J. Wood that provides a forum for affordable housing professionals to discuss their work. During the half-hour conversation, Chair Russ highlighted the Authority’s efforts to revitalize its buildings, the… MORE

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Meet Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs & General Counsel

Twenty-seven years ago, when Lisa Bova-Hiatt started her career at the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, she didn’t know the turns her career would take over the years – but she knew for sure that she wanted to serve the city where she was born and grew up. Since then,… MORE

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Healthy Start @ NYCHA Program Launches with Baby Shower at Ingersoll Houses

On March 5, NYCHA’s Health Initiatives team, in partnership with over 20 organizations, hosted a Baby Shower Resource Fair at Ingersoll Houses in Brooklyn. Expecting and pregnant NYCHA residents from across the city received baby and child supplies such as diapers, blankets, books, baby bouncers, pajamas, stuffed animals, baby bags, medicine kits, gift cards, baby… MORE

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Presenting NYCHA’s Decarbonization Efforts

Two NYCHA leaders – Vice President for Energy and Sustainability Vlada Kenniff and Acting Deputy Director of Energy and Sustainability Edwin Mendez – discussed the Authority’s work on decarbonization and sustainability at two notable public events recently.  Edwin Mendez attended the “AEG Thought Summit 2022: Critical Infrastructure, Equity and Resilience,” where he discussed NYCHA’s energy… MORE

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PACT Partners to Provide $360M in Comprehensive Repairs for Reid Apartments and Park Rock Consolidated

Over 3,600 residents will receive renovated apartments, building infrastructure upgrades, and redesigned public spaces A team with several New York-based MBEs and the Local Development Corporation of East New York will guide the scope of repairs and coordinate social services On March 2, NYCHA formally announced the selection of BRP Companies, Urbane, and Fairstead as… MORE

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NYCHA NAACP Branch’s Black Health and Wellness Event

On February 23, NYCHA’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosted an event focused on Black health and wellness as part of their Black History Month celebrations. The event was held at NYCHA’s offices at 1200 Waters Place in the Bronx. Guest speakers included Chief Operating Officer Daniel Sherrod;… MORE

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Chair Russ Participates in Future of Construction Summit

On February 24, NYCHA’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer Greg Russ participated in a virtual panel discussion organized by “City and State,” a media organization covering New York’s local and state politics and policy. The event, titled “Future of Construction in New York,” was moderated by Deputy State Politics Reporter Rebecca Lewis. The panel consisted… MORE

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NYCHA and HDC Finalize Deal to Begin $236 Million Renovation at Harlem River

On February 17, NYCHA and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) closed on the financing of the latest Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) transaction to fund comprehensive renovations for 690 apartments (as well as the construction of three apartments) at Harlem River Houses and the adjoining Harlem River II campus. This latest conversion… MORE

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NYCHA Establishes PACT Resource Team to Facilitate Resident Involvement in PACT

NYCHA has partnered with local organizations to launch the new PACT Resource Team. The team is currently recruiting technical advisors who will consult with and support residents in developments selected for PACT (the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program). NYCHA’s partners in the initiative include Local Initiatives Support Corporation New York City (LISC NYC), Public Works… MORE

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