City will use public-private partnerships to help fix more than 60K NYCHA apartments

The city’s public housing authority intends to fix 62,000 of its apartments over the next decade through public-private partnerships.

NYCHA will expand its participation in a federal program encouraging private partnerships at developments owned by the city, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the plan Monday at the Betances Houses in the South Bronx, which converted to the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program on Friday.

RAD moves apartment complexes into the Section 8 program, allowing them to remain affordable and have tenants spend no more than 30 percent of their income on rent. A private company— RDC Development LLC and Catholic Charities — will take over making repairs at the complex, and fixes will start at more than 1,000 apartments in December.

Renovations will include new kitchens and bathrooms, new boilers, and a new security system.

Betances Houses is the third development to join the RAD program, following the Ocean Bay Development in Far Rockaway and the Twin Parks West development in the Bronx.

The announcement comes on the heels of a federal judge rejecting a deal between federal prosecutors and the city to pay for NYCHA repairs for being too vague and not fully addressing the concerns of NYCHA residents.

NYCHA has about 175,000 apartments overall, and they need more than $31 billion worth of renovations.

“We don’t have $31 billion today,” de Blasio said, according to the Journal, “but we believe the plans we are putting forward will help us to get a lot of the resources in and make a huge difference in the lives of residents.” [WSJ] – Eddie Small