Inspiring a Compliance Culture: Read the Compliance Department’s Spring 2024 Newsletter
Updates, Alerts, and New Procedures
During the past quarter, the Compliance Department posted four new Advisory Alerts, created or updated four Standard Procedures, and made crucial changes to Management Manual, Chapter IV. This newsletter focuses on the key takeaways from these documents, so be sure to read the alerts, procedures, and manual updates for the complete information.
Manuals
Management Manual, Chapter IV, Termination of Tenancy details the process for terminating public housing tenancies and the grievances that tenants can bring to challenge certain NYCHA determinations. The manual was extensively revised to reflect current processes, including the updated process that shifts responsibility of certain litigation duties from Property Management to the Law Department’s Housing Litigation Division and Housing Court Unit. This particularly is the case in the non-payment and eviction sections of the manual. In addition, two new appendices were added: Appendix B – Mental Competency Assessment and Guardians Ad Litem, which replaces GM 3742, and Appendix C – Mental Competency Assessment: Computerized Housing Court Notices for Non-Payment of Rent Cases, which replaces DGM 20110029.
Standard Procedures
The National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) is the inspection protocol used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prioritize health, safety, and functional defects over appearance. Standard Procedure 040:18:1, Repair Standards & NSPIRE REAC Inspections, provides instructions to employees regarding the standards for repair and maintenance of public housing properties on an on-going basis, explains NYCHA’s role for NSPIRE Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspections, and provides instructions to employees on NSPIRE REAC inspections. The Compliance Department issued a series of NSPIRE-related alerts covering specific aspects of the inspection protocol and dedicated the Autumn 2023 edition of the Compliance Newsletter to the new inspection standards. Those alerts, as well as the newsletter, are listed in the table below.
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Compliance Advisory Alert 48 |
Introduction to the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) |
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Compliance Advisory Alert 49 |
NSPIRE Deficiency Categories |
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Compliance Advisory Alert 50 |
NSPIRE and NSPIRE Scoring |
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Compliance Advisory Alert 51 |
NSPIRE Inspectable Areas |
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Compliance Advisory Alert 52 |
NSPIRE Administration |
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Compliance Advisory Alert 53 |
NSPIRE Standards |
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NSPIRE: A New Approach to PHAS Inspections |
Updates were made to Standard Procedure 006:23:1, Equal Employment Opportunity and Fair Housing (formerly SP 007:67:1, Equal Opportunity), which sets out the process for the administration, dissemination, and enforcement of NYCHA’s non-discrimination policies. Revisions were made to account for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) intake process, the reorganized ODEI structure, and updates to legislation that prohibits discrimination based on weight and height.
For updates to Standard Procedure 007:03:1, Prevailing Wage Monitoring and Enforcement, guidelines were provided for administering departments, developments, and the Office of Prevailing Wage & Labor Standards (OPW&LS) to ensure that contractors and subcontractors comply with all federal prevailing wage laws and regulations. Property Management Offices are vital for NYCHA to monitor and enforce prevailing wage requirements. Property Management Offices maintain the Development Contractor Log Book and the development’s copy of the Contractor Daily Sign-in Sheet, which are critical records for the OPW&LS monitoring team when conducting site visits and assessing contractor prevailing wage compliance.
Property Management Offices also maintain many different documents related to their developments and residents. Standard Procedure 094:23:1, Records Management, details NYCHA’s records management policy and provides guidance and procedures for the maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposition of NYCHA records. This procedure was updated to include a new email retention policy, whereby staff are designated as having either permanent email retention status or standard email retention status. Standard Procedure 003:12:1, Email Retention, was made obsolete.
Compliance Advisory Alerts
Compliance Advisory Alert #57 – The Duty to Report Allegations of Bribery and Gratuities – was distributed to all NYCHA employees as a reminder about our shared ethical responsibilities and our affirmative obligation to report corruption, fraud, waste, and conflicts of interest to the New York City Department of Investigation. NYCHA employees, consultants, and temporary staff must follow the highest standards of ethical behavior. NYCHA staff engaged in procurement and purchasing activities are bound by NYCHA’s Procurement Ethics Policy, which is published on NYCHA Connect.
Compliance Advisory Alert #54 – Reporting Emergencies – Natural Gas Leaks or Natural Gas Equipment Malfunctions – developed out of discussions that revealed that staff may be unaware of the appropriate and required response to situations when the odor of natural gas is detected or the detection of the odor of gas is reported. As outlined in Standard Procedure 060:01:1, Gas Line Safety, if an employee detects a gas leak, they must follow the Emergency Gas Situation Actions table, based on their qualifications as noted in the table. If the location of a gas leak cannot be determined immediately, the building’s gas must be shut down.
The Compliance Department performs regular proactive quality assurance investigations of mold inspections. A recent review revealed that NYCHA mold inspectors sometimes make a set of common errors while performing these inspections. Those common errors included (1) improperly conducting wet measurements; (2) improperly marking inspections as “unfounded” due to a failure to identify water damage; (3) improperly identifying root causes; and (4) other issues with documentation in the work orders – each of these errors are highlighted in more depth in Compliance Advisory Alert #55 – Common Errors When Conducting Mold Inspections.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an environmentally sensitive approach to pest control which relies on a combination of common-sense practices and the knowledge of the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment – to effectively control pests with thez least possible hazard to staff, residents, visitors, and pets. Compliance Advisory Alert #56 – Integrated Pest Management – Pest Control Overview – provided details on the roles and responsibilities of NYCHA staff during IPM inspections and follow-up work, and the pest control materials and supplies to be used as part of the overall IPM process.
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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