Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Metropolis Comptroller and 2025 mayor’s race hopeful Brad Lander is pitching a plan to enhance the Huge Apple’s huge however crumbling public housing inventory, as a gaggle of New York Metropolis Housing Authority tenant leaders will on Saturday announce their assist for his Metropolis Corridor bid, New York News has realized.
Lander’s plan, which his marketing campaign shared solely with New York News forward of its April 5 launch, goals to strengthen oversight of NYCHA repairs, triple the town’s capital spending on public housing upgrades, and permit each campus to carry a majority vote over how you can rehabilitate their improvement.
NYCHA, which homes 517,000 New Yorkers, has an estimated $78 billion in capital wants. Many developments are suffering from points like boilers going out within the lifeless of winter, lead paint, and elevator outages.
“NYCHA residents deserve safe, modern homes, vibrant communities, and the chance to build better lives,” Lander mentioned in a press release. “My platform is a bold commitment to public housing—not just preserving it, but elevating it as a central pillar in solving New York City’s housing crisis, which will, in turn, advance racial and economic equity and deliver a future where NYCHA residents are full partners in the city’s success.”
FILE – Buildings at a NYCHA housing advanced.File photograph/Grant Lancaster
The comptroller additionally rolled out a slate of endorsements from public housing tenant leaders on Saturday. They embrace Aixa Torres, president of the residents affiliation for the Alfred E. Smith Homes in decrease Manhattan; Brenda Temple, a tenant at Oceanside Residences in Queens; and former Gowanus Homes Tenant Affiliation President Theresa Davis.
“From the day he took office, Brad listened, respected, and even sought out the voices of NYCHA residents, which is why we’re overwhelmingly proud to endorse him as the next mayor of New York City,” Torres mentioned in a press release. “No city leader has worked side-by-side with us like Brad. I trust his honesty and integrity as a leader entirely, and our city needs him to help curb disorder, stand up for our values, and bring us back on track.”
Lander’s plan would launch a “Yelp for NYCHA Repairs” — named after the app that enables prospects to submit critiques of companies. The system would enable tenants to fee repairs on their residences, together with if the work was really finished, which might be reviewed by the town earlier than distributors receives a commission, in accordance with a replica of the plan.
In line with the plan, the suggestions would then be used to ascertain “Vendor Scorecards” for all contractors performing repairs on NYCHA items. It might additionally inform a “Vendor Watchlist” for contractors positioned on “corrective action plans.”
The plan additionally requires permitting each NYCHA improvement to resolve by majority vote whether or not to enter a few rehabilitation packages or hold its campus as is.
At the moment, public housing residents can solely resolve by a majority vote on whether or not to enter their campus into the “NYCHA Preservation Trust.” The belief is a just lately established public profit company that enables NYCHA developments to transform federally funded Part 9 public housing items into Part 8 project-based items, offering them entry to billions of {dollars} in federal capital funding for main renovations.
In line with his marketing campaign, beneath Lander’s proposal, NYCHA residents may even have the ability to resolve by majority vote whether or not to hitch one other program generally known as Everlasting Affordability Dedication Collectively (PACT). This system places NYCHA developments beneath personal administration, which additionally permits them to transform from Part 9 to Part 8 and entry new income streams.
Lander additionally needs to triple the town’s funding for capital enhancements throughout NYCHA over the following decade. These funds would go towards updating boilers and elevators and addressing constant points like lead, mildew, and rat infestations.
Moreover, the comptroller’s plan would make the most of the Preservation Belief to construct completely inexpensive housing throughout revenue ranges. He additionally pledged to order a portion of fifty,000 inexpensive houses he plans to construct on public land, together with 4 public golf programs, for NYCHA residents.
