Quarterly Update from the CEO (Fall 2026)
Dear Colleagues,
With summer behind us and the last few months of the year coming into view, I’d like to highlight some of our recent accomplishments and provide some noteworthy updates.
Leadership Updates
I am pleased to let you know that Heather Beck, a longtime NYCHA leader, is now officially our Executive Vice President and Chief Real Estate Officer, following her appointment to the position in an interim capacity earlier this year. She and her colleagues in the Real Estate Development Department will continue to drive forward initiatives like PACT, which is dramatically transforming buildings across our portfolio so they can continue to provide quality, affordable homes for the decades to come.
Additionally:
- Abigail Fradkin was appointed Deputy Chief Asset and Capital Management Officer.
- Shira Kogan was appointed Deputy Chief Real Estate Officer.
Climate Week
As outlined in our 2026 Sustainability Agenda, we are modernizing our properties through a range of impressive and impactful initiatives, making our buildings more comfortable, safer, and healthier for residents; more efficient; and easier to operate. During Climate Week in September, we joined Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg and Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su to cut the ribbon on a new model apartment at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. With all of our sustainability innovations in one place, the model unit demonstrates how technologies such as window heat pumps and electric induction stoves can benefit the New Yorkers we serve. We were also proud to provide a tour of the unit to the leaders of 12 American cities alongside the New York Climate Exchange, showcasing NYCHA’s leadership in this area.
Housing Preservation and Creation
In late September, we joined sister City agencies and development partners to break ground on “Sol on Park,” a 229-unit, 100 percent affordable housing development for low- and moderate-income seniors (including those who formerly experienced homelessness) in the Bronx. Morris Houses residents helped design the energy-efficient development, including elements dedicated to supporting the health and wellness of residents. And thanks to the innovative “Transfer of Assistance” financing tool, 80 apartments will be reserved for current residents of Morris Houses (and there will be a space for the Morris Houses Resident Association too).
In October, we cut the ribbon on a $636 million PACT renovation of the Reid Apartments and Park Rock Consolidated developments, which means brand-new apartments, buildings, grounds, and common areas for nearly 3,000 residents across 87 buildings in Brooklyn.
And we recently closed on the financing for two developments that will be transformed thanks to our innovative and impactful housing preservation programs – Nostrand Houses in Brooklyn has joined the Trust and Rangel Houses in Manhattan has converted to the PACT program. Nostrand Houses was the first development whose residents voted to join the Trust, and it represents the first Trust closing, so this is an especially exciting milestone.
Additional ‘NYCHA in Your Neighborhood’ Forums
After a successful round of three NYCHA in Your Neighborhood forums earlier this year – which brought together nearly 500 New Yorkers with government leadership and resulted in follow-ups on 151 issues – we have launched another five sessions. From September through December, these additional forums are being held across all five boroughs, enabling residents to participate in small-group discussions with senior City and NYCHA leaders, share feedback, ask questions, and get assistance. This new round began with sessions in Queens and Staten Island on September 16 and 30, respectively, and continued with the Bronx on October 14. Thank you to everyone who is helping to make these events so empowering and effective!
Employee Survey
The 2026 NYCHA Employee Survey is now open! This brief online survey gives staff the opportunity to provide input which will help us understand how the Authority’s transformation efforts have impacted staff, morale, and culture. We will use this information to develop communications and trainings as well as find new ways to support staff. Click here to provide your feedback today!
Connect with the CEO
As part of our “Coffee with the CEO” series, I meet informally with small groups of employees from across the Authority to discuss how we can work together more effectively to achieve our goals as an organization. If you’d like to participate, please complete the information here. Participants are chosen randomly, and you’ll be contacted if you are selected.
Do you have a general question about NYCHA? You can send your questions to AsktheCEO@nycha.nyc.gov and check NYCHANow and Connect to see if they were selected to be answered as part of our “Ask the CEO” column. Please be advised that featured questions will be published with the names of the employees who submitted them.
Thank you for all that you do to improve residents’ quality of life and strengthen our organization.
In partnership,
Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Chief Executive Officer