Chair Olatoye Announces Historic Changes to Operations with New Expanded Service Hours

Chair Shola Olatoye addressed staff in a video presentation on March 21 to announce NYCHA’s historic FlexOps initiative. You can see the video presentation at http://on.nyc.gov/FlexOps. Following are her remarks.

The problems NYCHA faces have been building up for decades. For years, we’ve been caught between decaying buildings, money shortfalls and ineffective management. These past failures have fueled cynicism and frustration among residents and our employees.

I understand those frustrations. I feel them too. But despite these very real challenges, we’ve been writing a new chapter for NYCHA. Over the past two years, we’ve made meaningful progress in our work and service levels. And while we have you— our staff—to thank, we still have a long way to go.

NYCHA is at a crossroads. The biggest threat to our future, besides funding or our aging buildings, is our thinking. Defending the status quo with “we’ve always done it this way” is the surest way to failure. The fact is, we can no longer tackle the issues we face today with the solutions and operations of yesterday.

Consider this—for years, NYCHA’s budget has changed, but not our daily hours of operations. Our buildings and the demands of our work have changed, but not our hours. The staff schedules are not setting you up for success—to accomplish the work at hand or to serve the residents in a way they can see and feel.

We can’t keep on doing the same thing, thinking we’re going to get a different result. In 2016, we will make real changes to how we operate. We are introducing Flexible Operations, or FlexOps.

Through FlexOps, we will start to have multiple shifts for caretakers, maintenance workers, property management and support staff. We will operate before 8 a.m. and after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and have office hours on Saturdays. This means setting up our staff, and the residents we serve, for success.

We hope to better manage tenants not at home by also scheduling routine repairs in the early evening. And give development offices time to catch up from the week and to make appointments with residents on Saturdays. Most important, we hope to bring NYCHA into the 21st century, by creating a schedule that supports greater flexibility and work/life balance for you. Make no mistake, I understand the challenges you face.

It’s the men and women who pick up trash, make routine repairs, and manage our properties day in and day out who are NYCHA’s unsung heroes.

You constantly tackle trash, vandalism, and those who refuse to follow the rules that would make NYCHA cleaner and safer. Time and time again, you’ve proven your resiliency and dedication. You’ve been able to get the job done despite the obstacles.

FlexOps is a fundamental shift in how we do our business. You are the engine that can move NYCHA forward in a new direction. It will be a long road, but we cannot get there without you.

Thank you.

Shola Olatoye