Inspiring a Compliance Culture: Read the Compliance Department’s Fall 2024 Newsletter

Updates and Alerts

During the past quarter, the Compliance Department updated four Standard Procedures and posted six new Compliance Advisory Alerts. HUD is also wrapping up the current National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) inspection cycle, which we detail below. This newsletter focuses on the key takeaways from these documents, so be sure to read the alerts, procedures, and memos for the complete information.

Wrapping up HUD NSPIRE Inspection Cycle

There has been a tremendous improvement in the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) physical inspection scores this year. A few highlights:

As of October 11, HUD has published inspection scores for 116 NYCHA properties. The average non-weighted score for the 2024 NSPIRE cycle was 62.5, a significant increase from an average score of 33.75 for the 2022/2023 physical inspection cycle. The weighted average score as of September for 2024 was 60.6, which will be reflected in the overall HUD PHAS rating for NYCHA. This may change as other properties are inspected. 1,602 Property Management Operations and Operations Support Services staff members completed NSPIRE classroom training, while 752 completed site-based training. The average score on the NSPIRE Readiness Training Final Exam was 93.4%.

You can see a summary of the individual development scores (as of October 11) in the table below. Properties that score over 80 will be inspected every two years, while properties that score over 90 will be inspected every three years.

Trend	2022-2023 (131 inspections)	2023-2024 (116 inspections as of October 11)
# of Inspections Over 50	31 (23%)	90 (78%)
# of Inspections Over 60	16 (12%)	49 (42%)
# of Inspections Over 80	0	25 (22%)
# of Inspections Over 90	0	4 (3%)

NYCHA remains steadfast in its commitment to improving its NSPIRE inspection scores. This ongoing effort helps ensure that residents live in safe, habitable dwellings and that the items and components located inside and outside their apartments are functionally adequate, operable, and free of health and safety hazards.As a reminder, NYCHA staff can register themselves for NSPIRE Readiness Classroom Training on NYCHA University [search “NSPIRE Readiness (Inspector Led)”]. However, staff cannot register themselves for NSPIRE Readiness Site-Based Training.     

Please contact the Compliance Department at compliance@nycha.nyc.gov or Learning and Development at myLearning.NYCHA@nycha.nyc.gov with any questions or feedback regarding NSPIRE Readiness Training.

Standard Procedures

Revisions were made to Standard Procedure 060:88:2, Emergency Repair and Procurement Process for Operations (Formerly Emergency Work), which establishes guidelines for Operations staff, including Property Management and the Emergency Management and Services Department, to procure vendors on an emergency basis if needed and when necessary during both business hours and outside business hours. Updates include, but are not limited to:

• An updated definition and criteria for a NYCHA emergency.
• References to NYCHA’s Emergency On-Call Program, which ensures that there are weekly assigned points of contact for each division and/or department across NYCHA to represent their respective functional area(s) outside of normal business hours.
• How to determine a non-competitive procurement method when an emergency cannot be immediately stabilized using available resources, such as an existing contract or the standard procurement process.
• The chief procurement officer or a designee must give prior approval for non-competitive small purchases and emergency solicitations. A template for requesting this approval is included as an appendix to the Standard Procedure.
• Administering departments must submit a new NYCHA Form 135.167, Emergency Declaration, to justify non-competitive procurements for small purchases and emergency solicitations.

Updates were made to Standard Procedure 040:09:3, Annual Apartment Inspections (Formerly Periodic Apartment Inspections), which establishes standards for performing annual inspections of NYCHA public housing apartments. Revisions to this Standard Procedure include, but are not limited to:

• Making it the goal to inspect all NYCHA apartments annually as required in 24 Code of Federal Regulations Part 5, Subpart G.
• Requiring that when inspectors schedule inspections, they allow at least 20 minutes to inspect each apartment, which does not include the additional time staff is also expected to spend making required minor repairs in the apartment.
• Adding micromobility devices to the list of prohibited equipment and providing enforcement guidance.
• Updating the minor repairs required during an inspection to include GFCI outlets and installation of smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping and hallway area.

Revisions also were made to Standard Procedure 001:97:2, Workplace Violence Prevention Procedure, which establishes the responsibilities of NYCHA and NYCHA employees regarding workplace violence. This standard procedure was updated to include:

• An annual, mandatory web-based workplace violence prevention training.
• A Hierarchy of Controls, measures that an employer can use to protect employees from harm, including engineering controls which are considered the most effective, followed by work practice controls, and lastly, personal protective equipment (PPE) controls.
• Identification of disciplinary and other appropriate actions resulting from workplace violence incidents for employee perpetrators and non-employee perpetrators.
• A list of crime categories that require NYCHA employees to immediately call 911 and notify their supervisors and the Office of Safety and Security.
• A guide that defines active shooter incidents and lists what to do in the event of such incidents.
• A new section that outlines patterns of behavior and events that frequently precede incidents of workplace violence and employee or workplace issues that may trigger workplace violence.

Updates were also made to Standard Procedure 182:05:1, Commercial Property Administration, which provides instructions to NYCHA employees on the leasing and administration of commercial properties located at NYCHA developments. The procedure was revised to include additional non-permitted uses of commercial space, the ability to authorize rent concessions for both retail and community-based uses at the startup of a lease, and clarification of the role played by outside counsel in the non-payment of rent process.

Compliance Advisory Alerts

Since our last newsletter, Compliance also issued six Compliance Advisory Alerts:

1. Compliance Advisory Alert #62 – Integrated Pest Management – Property Management Support was developed after a review of whether work orders were adhering to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) protocols. The review indicated that Property Management staff are not performing repairs to support IPM and/or are not performing supportive repairs in a timely manner, leading to a backlog of IPM-related violations and work orders. This has the potential for the manifestation or continuation of infestations and more complex pest control issues, and compromises NYCHA’s efforts to control pests at developments.
2. Compliance Advisory Alert #63 – Compactor Room Safety Equipment was developed based on findings from inspections performed by the Environmental Health and Safety Department of compactor rooms. During recent oversight inspections of compactor rooms, more than half were observed to have safety equipment deficiencies. Those inspections revealed that 96 out of 185 compactor rooms were missing safety equipment, including one or more elements of the compactor refuse chute’s blocks and chain/rope, a first aid kit, sharps disposal containers (e.g., containers for needles and/or syringes), hacksaw, chaps or heavy neoprene apron, and eye/face shield.
3. NYCHA’s commitment to compliance and safety is paramount. Recent HUD NSPIRE inspections highlighted significant concerns regarding electrical issues, resulting in the loss of valuable points for deficiencies that staff should address as part of their routine work in apartments and interior common areas (“inside”). Compliance Advisory Alert #64 – Common Life-Threatening and Severe Electrical Issues Cited During NSPIRE Inspections details these issues and provides photographs from HUD NSPIRE inspections. Staff must proactively address these items to improve safety and ensure better inspection outcomes.
4. Compliance Advisory Alert #65 – Tank Room Inspections in Maximo followed On-Site Monitoring (OSM) at NYCHA developments conducted by the Compliance Department, Quality Assurance Department, and Environmental Health and Safety Department. After OSM exercises at several NYCHA developments, it was observed that the designated NYCHA staff have not been conducting tank room inspections as required and are frequently not completing entries in the Tank Room Log and/or tank room inspection work orders as required.
5. Through a review of work orders, the Compliance Department found that maintenance staff sometimes incorrectly open and close maintenance work orders. In particular, maintenance staff have reported receiving incorrect directions on how to open a work order; when to start labor time; and when to close work orders as “unfounded,” “previously corrected,” or “completed on arrival.” It was also found that maintenance staff are not entering sufficient notes in their logs to document and substantiate their interactions with residents. Compliance Advisory Alert #66 – Opening and Closing Maintenance Work Orders (Wrench Time) addresses the issue of properly opening and closing maintenance work orders and provides guidance on how to do so consistent with the established process outlined in NYCHA Standard Procedure 040:09:7, Managing Maintenance Work Orders.
6. Compliance Advisory Alert #67 – Integrated Pest Management – Compactor Room Inspection Overview evolved out of regular oversight inspections of compactor rooms conducted by the Compliance Department and Environmental Health and Safety Department. A review of oversight inspections over time has revealed inconsistencies with performing required tasks, including inspecting compactor rooms at the designated frequencies, documenting the completion of inspections, reporting unsatisfactory conditions observed in compactor rooms, and completing repairs in compactor rooms as soon as possible. This Compliance Advisory Alert focuses on the staff’s obligation to conduct compactor room inspections.

Conclusion

The Compliance Department will continue working with our colleagues to ensure that NYCHA is a safe and healthy place for our residents, staff, and vendors. If you have any concerns or complaints, or if you see anyone engaging in a deceptive practice, you can make a confidential and anonymous report by calling the Customer Contact Center at (718) 707-7771 (select menu option 7) or by visiting the Compliance Department section of NYCHA’s website. Complaints can also be reported to any other federal, state, or local government agency. Remember, the Compliance Department is here to help.

90 Church Street
New York, NY 10007
https://on.nyc.gov/submit-concern