NYCHA Fix Could Get Help From $70B In Federal Cash, NYC Reps Say

NEW YORK CITY HALL — Six members of Congress called Tuesday for a $70 billion nationwide federal investment in public housing to help address the problems ailing the New York City Housing Authority. The money would be part of a $1 trillion federal infrastructure plan under a proposal pushed by Democratic members of the city's House of Representatives delegation.

"It's time for the federal government to get back into the business of supporting the hard-working residents of public housing here in New York City and throughout the nation," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) said at a news conference outside City Hall.

Joining Jeffries in calling for the money were Democratic Reps. Yvette Clarke, Nydia Velazquez, Gregory Meeks, Adriano Espaillat and Carolyn Maloney.

The investment over a five-year period would pay for repairs and upgrades at public housing complexes around the country, as well as investments in job training and improvements to surrounding communities, Jeffries said.

At nearly $32 billion, NYCHA's list of capital needs for the next five years would eat up nearly half the proposed amount. The federal cash infusion could possibly cover at least $20 billion to $25 billion of that, Jeffries said, but the city and state would have to "step up" to pay for more. The exact amount will have to be determined based on a "nationwide assessment" of public housing capital needs, he said.

Beset by years of neglect and mismanagement, NYCHA residents have faced lead poisoning, mold, heating failures and myriad other problems that have led to lawsuits and investigations.

The new money would be an antidote to the federal disinvestment that Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has largely blamed for the various crises. But President Donald Trump's administration has sought to cut funding for public housing, and his infrastructure proposal reportedly called for just $200 billion in federal spending.

Jeffries said the representatives' proposal has support from the Democratic House and Senate leaders, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer. An infrastucture plan will be a "top priority" for Democrats if they take control of the House from Republicans in this year's elections, he said.

Members of Congress mostly blamed NYCHA's problems on the federal government's abandonment of public housing since the 1980s. Espaillat said the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides the bulk of NYCHA's funding, has become "a derelict slumlord."

But City Council lawmakers also criticized city officials' lack of transparency about issues such as lead poisoning.

"It doesn’t cost a dime to be honest," said Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn).

A spokeswoman for de Blasio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the federal funding proposal.

In a settlement with federal prosecutors last month, NYCHA admitted to falsely filing paperwork saying it performed mandated lead inspections that had not been done. The agreement forced the city to feed NYCHA $1 billion in capital funding and provided for a federal monitor to oversee reforms.

NYCHA and the de Blasio administration have faced recent scrutiny after revelations that more than 800 children age 5 and younger living in public housing had tested positive for elevated lead levels from 2012 to 2016, far more than previously disclosed.

The call for more federal money came a day after de Blasio, a Democrat, announced that NYCHA plans to inspect all 130,000 apartments where lead may still be present in a first-of-its-kind survey.

Private contractors will conduct the inspections in nearly three quarters of NYCHA's roughly 176,000 apartments using X-ray technology, the mayor said, adding that the results will be made public.

"It’s going to take a lot of money, it’s going to take a lot of effort, but people will have peace of mind and we’ll know once and for all what’s going on," de Blasio said in an interview on NY1's "Inside City Hall."

The review will encompass more than twice the number of apartments that the mayor previously said were thought to contain lead. "It’s around 50,000 apartments if I remember that even have the possibility of having lead in them," he said at a November news conference.

The new survey, conceived by NYCHA General Manager Vito Mustaciuolo and interim Chairman Stanley Brezenoff, is part of an aggressive, multi-agency campaign to address lead poisoning in public housing, de Blasio said. He compared it to the city's Vision Zero initiative to reduce traffic deaths.

The city will also reach out to every child found to have elevated blood lead levels of at least 5 micrograms per deciliter to ensure they're getting proper medical care, de Blasio said. Additionally, the city will publish quarterly reports starting next month of the number of children in NYCHA homes with elevated lead levels, he said.

"This issue, understandably, concerns people deeply," de Blasio said. "We want to give them definitive answers."

De Blasio has noted that lead poisoning citywide has declined about 90 percent since 2005, and that most cases come out of private housing. He has also touted the multibillion-dollar funding boost his administration has given NYCHA since he took office.

(Lead image: U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a congressional hearing in March 2017. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)