NextGen NYCHA: A Year of Progress
188 affordable apartments, a walk-in urgent care center and a wellness center.
Last May, we released Next-Generation NYCHA, our 10-year strategic plan to preserve public housing for the more than 400,000 people who call NYCHA home and to protect it for our next generation of residents. I want to thank you; the plan was developed with your input, and over the past year you’ve worked hard, beginning to fulfill NextGeneration NYCHA’s four goals.
These goals include generating more capital and operating dollars for the Authority; improving property management and customer service; repairing and rebuilding our existing buildings and develop new housing; and connecting residents to more life-changing opportunities. I’d like to highlight some of our achievements over the past year.
We are making our developments safer and more secure. At Polo Grounds, we installed 341 energy-efficient exterior lights as part of a $4.8 million project; similar work is underway at eight developments. At 31 developments, we installed nearly 1,000 cameras, along with layered access, thanks to $18 million from the City Council and the State. At 15 high-crime developments, we installed 184 temporary light towers, CCTV, lighting, and layered access. And we started the Public Safety Advisory Committee, which brings together residents, NYCHA staff, and partners to develop community safety plans.
We are making critical repairs. We began an $87 million project to replace roofs at Queensbridge Houses’ 26 buildings, an important way to combat leaks and mold. With a $300 million investment from Mayor de Blasio, we will replace an estimated 267 roofs over the next several years, making our buildings stronger for nearly 64,000 residents. And I’m pleased to report that we met our goal to cut the average wait time for routine repairs to less than seven days.
We are building more affordable housing while exploring new ways of generating revenue. Developers have been selected to build new 100 percent affordable housing at Ingersoll, Mill Brook, and Van Dyke Houses. We launched NextGenNeighborhoods—our plan to generate funds through the development of half marketrate, half affordable housing units—and have been engaging residents at the first two locations, Wyckoff Gardens and Holmes Towers, in the process. We also started the Fund for Public Housing, a non-profit organization that will raise funds to connect residents to partners and opportunities.
We are becoming a more modern, digital organization through valuable customer service tools such as MyNYCHA, online Section 8 annual income recertification, and a third Digital Van.
It has been a year defined by tough choices, significant action, and real progress in our commitment to be a better landlord. No one said that this would be easy—true transformation and progress never are—but with your support, I know that we will create the safe and decent housing our residents deserve and improve the quality of life for thousands of New Yorkers. Thank you for your partnership.
