Defining the Future

Dear Colleagues,

It’s a rare opportunity to be in a time and a place that will define the future – and here at NYCHA, that moment is now. Through our work of transforming this organization, we are making the changes that will benefit our residents in a meaningful way, now and for the decades to come. Read on to learn a little more about the journey ahead.

Quarterly Leadership Meeting

In December, we convened about 230 staff for the Quarterly Leadership Meeting. The theme – “Opportunity, Transformation, and Excellence” – was very relevant to our work of building a new NYCHA, and we discussed how we’ll achieve our vision for the future. That involves addressing the main pillars of the HUD agreement, in collaboration with the federal monitor. Making demonstrable improvements in these critical areas (heat, elevators, lead, mold, and pests and waste) will have a significant impact on residents’ quality of life. We also discussed our work to develop an organizational plan for the Authority over the next several months.

Keynote speaker Shaun Donovan (HUD Secretary and Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration and former NYC HPD Commissioner) praised the dedication and successes of public servants, and affirmed his belief that we too can effect groundbreaking change in New York City.

Improving Heat Service for Residents

Last month, I and several other members of NYCHA’s executive team testified before the City Council about our winter season preparedness. We noted how a number of substantial operational improvements and strategic investments have enabled us to reduce the time it takes to restore heat outages by 73 recent (from 30 hours in 2017-2018 to 8 hours in the current heating season) and bring down the number of outages significantly. Our heating action plan – which was approved by the federal monitor, Bart Schwartz, and his team in December – outlines some of our efforts, including boiler and heating component replacements, annual preventative maintenance, the hiring of 70 heating plant technicians, a 24/7 staffing model for repair teams, and a 24/7 Heat Desk that monitors potential service disruptions. Staff are currently being trained on the action plan, and resident leaders will be informed about it in the weeks ahead.

You can read the written City Council testimony here.

Updated MyNYCHA App

With the MyNYCHA app and website, residents can create, schedule, and manage work orders from their smartphones or computers – anywhere, and at any time of day. MyNYCHA also allows residents to pay their rent online. We recently released an updated version of MyNYCHA; its new features enable residents to receive notifications on outages, report elevator issues, view planned service interruptions, see details about upcoming apartment inspections, and view work tickets grouped by job.

MyNYCHA, which is available in English and Spanish, is a crucial part of our efforts to improve customer service for residents. Check out a video about the new MyNYCHA features here.

Central Office Moves

The consolidation of NYCHA’s central offices is almost complete. Most central office staff have moved into spaces at our existing locations, including 90 Church Street, Long Island City, 787 Atlantic Avenue, One Fordham Plaza, and 1200 Waters Place. This spring, several departments from 250 Broadway, including the Executive Department, will move to 90 Church Street. NYCHA will keep four floors in 250 Broadway, and a few departments will remain in the building as these spaces are renovated.

We have strived to make these moves as seamless as possible for all our stakeholders, and we thank you for your partnership as we transform this agency. If you have any questions about this initiative, you can email NYCHAmove@nycha.nyc.gov.

Staff Promotions & Appointments

We’d like to congratulate the following staff on their recent promotions and appointments:

• Michael Clandorf, Executive Project Manager for Project Management Department Team 2 (Capital Projects)
• Lauren Gray, Vice President for Compliance
• Andrew Kaplan, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Chair
• Simon Kawitzky, Vice President for Portfolio Planning (Real Estate Development)
• Joey Koch, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chair
• Ian Lundy, Managing Director for Transactions (Real Estate Development)
• Sandip Shah, Director for Process & Information Management Department (IT)
• Richard Solivan, Director of the Elevator Services & Repair Department

New Way for Employees to Report Safety Issues

As part of our transformation efforts, we’ve streamlined the way that employees can report unsafe conditions and safety concerns to our Environmental Health & Safety team. To do so, staff can call the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 (selecting menu option 7 then option 3), or visit on.nyc.gov/submit-concern (selecting “A health and safety issue” in the second prompt and “Employee Safety” in the third prompt).

In Case You Missed It..

Here are some interesting stories we featured in The NYCHA Journal (our news site for residents) and NYCHANow (the employee bulletin):

Ready to Lead: First Class of NYCHA’s Resident Leadership Academy Graduates
Helping Seniors at Home
Child Care: The Best Compensation Possible
A Healthy Diversion: In-Sink Food Waste Disposers at 3 Developments Benefit the Environment
Breaking Ground in Brooklyn: New Affordable Housing Development Rises on Van Dyke Houses Campus
The Power of Words: Language Bank Volunteers Provide Vital Assistance

The new year has just begun, but we are already seeing the difference that partnership and hard work can make. We look forward to more progress together in 2020.

Sincerely,

Greg Russ
Chair & Chief Executive Officer

Vito Mustaciuolo
General Manager