Inspiring a Compliance Culture: Read the Compliance Department’s Fall 2026 Newsletter
What’s New This Quarter?
This fall, the Compliance Department highlights how fraud prevention is an agency-wide effort at NYCHA, provides a refresher on what the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) inspections are, and explains NYCHA’s role in the inspection process. This newsletter also summarizes key updates to three recently revised Standard Procedures. For more information, employees should refer to the full documents.
Fraud Prevention Is Everyone’s Responsibility
As part of NYCHA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen agency-wide fraud risk prevention efforts, the Compliance Department is launching a series of articles to increase fraud awareness and help employees understand the role we all play in protecting NYCHA’s programs, residents, and public resources.
Effective fraud risk mitigation is not limited to investigating fraud after it occurs. A proactive approach focuses on preventing, detecting, and responding to potential fraud risks before they can cause harm. NYCHA has sharpened its approach by identifying and assessing fraud risks, clarifying responsibilities, and strengthening efforts to prevent and detect potential fraud.
Because employees are closest to many of NYCHA’s day-to-day activities, they are frequently among the first to recognize when something does not appear right. Red flags may include unexplained irregularities in documentation, attempts to bypass established controls, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unusual transactions or procurement activity, or information suggesting that work or services may not have occurred as represented.
Recognizing and reporting concerns early allows NYCHA to assess potential risks and take appropriate action.
You can help stop fraud! You don’t have to prove fraud to raise a concern — you just need to report what you observe.
HOW TO REPORT: Contact the NYC Department of Investigation’s NYCHA Inspector General at 212-306-3355, ig@nycha.nyc.gov, or nychaoig@doi.nyc.gov.
NYCHA’s Role in NSPIRE Inspections
NSPIRE is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) inspection protocol, which prioritizes the safety and functionality of housing conditions over appearance to support the health and well-being of public housing residents. During NSPIRE inspections, HUD contractors use NSPIRE inspection standards to evaluate a public housing agency’s physical condition. These standards are intended to ensure that public housing agencies’ properties are maintained in a condition that is functionally adequate, operable, and free of health and safety hazards.
The NSPIRE standards are referenced in Standard Procedure 040:18:1, Repair Standards & NSPIRE REAC Inspections. Repairs and maintenance are year-round responsibilities. NYCHA is required to inspect all apartments annually and conduct routine checks of buildings, grounds, and systems to identify and correct deficiencies on a timely basis and ensure they are adequately maintained and repaired. Based on commonly cited NSPIRE inspection deficiencies, physical conditions to look out for include, but are not limited to:
- Electrical outlets and switches are present and undamaged; there are no exposed wires. For more information, see the corresponding NSPIRE standard.
- Fire extinguishers must have inspection tags, and the tags must be legible and not expired. For more information, see the corresponding NSPIRE standard.
Standard Procedures
Standard Procedure 040:49:6, Pest Prevention and Control at NYCHA Developments (Formerly Pest Prevention and Control in NYCHA Residential Buildings), instructs NYCHA employees on how to implement and comply with applicable preventive and responsive measures to control pest infestations in NYCHA public housing developments. This procedure also creates protocols to protect the health of residents, employees, and vendors when preventing, reducing, and eliminating pest activity through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques. Updates to the Standard Procedure include, but are not limited to:
- Specifying that exterminators must now conduct a comprehensive inspection for all four major public health pests (rats, mice, cockroaches, and bed bugs) during every extermination work order.
- Updating treatment requirements for move-out units, including allowing preventive pesticide use during the strip stage.
- Clarifying personal protective equipment requirements, specifically the use of respirators based on Environmental Health and Safety assessments, pesticide label requirements, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.
- Enhancing pest treatment procedures for employee offices, consistent with practices used in apartments and common areas.
Standard Procedure 001:97:2, Workplace Violence Prevention Procedure, establishes the responsibilities of NYCHA and NYCHA employees regarding workplace violence; procedures for evaluating and lessening the risk of workplace violence; a workplace violence prevention training program; and a workplace violence prevention plan, as required by law. The updates enhance NYCHA’s process for addressing customers who engage in workplace violence at Walk-In Centers, including:
- Requiring the Office of Safety and Security to meet with staff from the Leased Housing Department or the Applications and Tenancy Administration Department, as applicable, and Walk-In Center staff to discuss investigation findings and whether to restrict a customer from Walk-In Centers.
- Establishing that customers may be restricted from Walk-In Centers for up to two years, with restrictions of more than two years requiring approval, as applicable, by the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Operating Officer or the Executive Vice President of Leased Housing.
- Requiring the Leased Housing Department or the Applications and Tenancy Administration Department, as applicable, to notify the customer of the restriction by letter and email. If the customer is a public housing resident, the Applications and Tenancy Administration Department must also notify the applicable borough Vice President and property management for possible administrative action.
Standard Procedure 060:62:1, Elevator Service, Maintenance, and Repair, outlines the process for elevator repair, maintenance, inspection, and modernization to ensure that elevators in NYCHA properties are safe, reliable, and operational in accordance with federal regulations and local law. Updates to the Standard Procedure include, but are not limited to:
- Revising resident notification procedures for planned major repairs, preventive maintenance, and inspections.
- Updating elevator out-of-service notices for planned and unplanned outages and adding a new notice for low-voltage outages.
- Adding a new Low Voltage section establishing procedures for responding to low-voltage conditions and restoring elevator service.
- Strengthening employee safety requirements, including personal protective equipment, elevator machine room access, and confined space protocols.
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.
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