Feds to NYC: Shell out at least $1B to fix public housing

Federal prosecutors are set to order New York City to fork out at least $1 billion to fix thousands of deteriorating public housing units over the next four years.

After a 2015 investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and in following years, it was revealed that the New York City Housing Authority failed to conduct annual inspections of lead paint on more than 55,000 apartments, after it falsely claimed it did and relied on broken boilers to heat buildings during the freezing winter months.

A consent decree is expected to be signed in the coming days, Politico reported. A federal monitor will be appointed to ensure the authority, which currently manages 2,417 buildings across 325 developments, adheres to the order.

The housing authority is technically under federal jurisdiction, with most of its funding coming from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But if the decree is signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York will take on more responsibility for an agency that already faces more than $25 billion in backlogged capital repairs, according to the report.

NYCHA chair Shola Olatoye announced in April she would be stepping down. [Politico] — David Jeans