3 City, feds reach agreement to overhaul NYCHA
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 10, 2019
BY BILL PARRY
The city has reached an
agreement with the federal
government that provides
a new roadmap forward
for NYCHA and the 400,000
residents who live in its
334 development across the
five boroughs.
In a joint appearance by
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
U.S. Housing and Urban
Development Secretary
Ben Carson Thursday,
they announced a federal
monitor would be selected
by HUD and the Southern
District of New York
with input from City Hall
to address the longstanding
issues at the housing
authority’s properties.
“The families who have
endured unimaginably poor
housing conditions deserve
better from their housing
authority,” Carson said.
“Today we are presenting
NYCHA residents with bold
new solutions for decadesold
problems.”
The search for the federal
monitor will begin immediately,
according to Mayor
de Blasio.
The city will pay for the
cost of the monitor who will
provide quarterly reports to
all the agencies involved.
“What we have done here
today creates a strong patch
forward, a tangible path forward,”
de Blasio said. “It will
change and improve the lives
of public housing residents.
We wanted to make sure
there would be results.”
The agreement, made under
HUD’s authority and not
subject to court approval,
establishes specific requirements
and milestones to address
the serious health and
safety hazards at NYCHA
complexes, including leadbased
paint, mold, heat, vermin,
among others. It also
requires the existence of a
substantial default by NYCHA
but does not impose
a receiver.
The mayor said that
means NYCHA remains
“under local control.” As
part of the agreement, the
city is committing at least
$2.2 billion in funding over
the next 10 years to address
the issues while HUD continues
to provide funding to
NYCHA, which is estimated
to be around $1.5 billion
a year.
“This is a very positive
outcome, one that I believe
can bring meaningful
change to living conditions
of the many thousands of
families who depend on
NYCHA for their housing,”
Carson said. “But there is
still a lot of work to be carried
out. We look forward to
continuing what has been a
productive working relationship
with the Mayor and his
team. HUD will continue to
advocate for the hundreds of
thousands of children, women
and men in New York City
whose lives and livelihoods
depend on having safe, fair
and affordable housing. They
deserve nothing else.”
Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney said more needed
to be done at the state and
federal level to end the third
world conditions that exist at
NYCHA developments.
“The state and federal
governments must do their
part to help the residents
of NYCHA by significantly
increasing the amount of
money invested in public
housing,” Maloney said. “As
a member of the Housing,
Community Development,
and Insurance Subcommittee,
I will be closely monitoring
the implementation
of this agreement and will
work with my colleagues in
the New York delegation to
make sure that the voices
on NYCHA’s residents are
heard loud and clear in the
halls of Congress.”
Comptroller Scott Stringer
was incredulous over the
agreement, especially that a
federal monitor was central
to the plan.
“Now they want a monitor?
NYCHA already has
monitors — its residents who
have suffered from decades
of disinvestment,” Stringer
said. “They’re the parents
who sought help when their
children had lead poisoning.
The grandmother who has to
huddle near a stove when it’s
colder inside her apartment
than outside. And the family
dealing with health issues
because of rampant mold in
their home. The time for talk
and political stunts is over.
Cut the long overdue check
from the federal government
to fully fund the needed repairs,
listen to the real NYCHA
monitors, put a plan in
place, and get to work.”
BY BILL PARRY
The State Senate introduced
a potential gamechanger
to the state and
city’s deal with Amazon
to build its HQ2 campus in
Long Island City.
Senate Majority Leader
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
recommended state Sen.
Michael Gianaris as a
member of the state Public
Authorities Control Board,
which could potentially
veto the Amazon project.
Gianaris, the deputy
majority leader of the Senate,
has been a leading opponent
of the Amazon deal
due to the incentive package
worth nearly $3 billion
in taxpayer funds.
“New York needs responsible
fiscal stewardship
now more than ever
and ensuring our economic
development dollars are
well spent is a responsibility
I take very seriously,”
Gianaris said Monday. “I
appreciate Leader Stewart
Cousin’s faith in me
and am honored she submitted
my name to serve
on the PACB.”
Cuomo, who has the
power to reject Gianaris,
would not say whether he
would do so during a radio
appearance on WNYC
Tuesday. He did remark,
“It’s unfortunate the Senate
is playing politics.”
Cuomo has defended
the deal since November,
calling it an “unparalleled
economic boom for the
economy” with its 25,000
good-paying jobs over 10
years, with a plan to grow
to 40,000 over 15 years projected
to deliver over $186
billion in economic impact
to New York over the next
25 years.
During an oversight
hearing at the City Council
last week, Amazon
Vice President for Public
Policy Brian Huseman
gave the first indication
that the e-commerce giant
was unhappy with
the growing opposition in
western Queens.
“We were invited to
come to New York, and we
want to invest in a community
that wants us,”
Huseman said adding later
that Amazon wants to
“be part of the growth of a
community where our employees
and our company
are wanted.”
During his radio interview
with Brian Lehrer,
Cuomo was blunt.
“It would be a dramatic
blow, not just the economy
but also the reputation
on New York City if Amazon
doesn’t come because
of criticism,” he said. “If
they’re going somewhere
else, the people will follow.”
The situation was compounded
for the governor
Monday when he and
Comptroller Thomas Di
Napoli announced that
state income tax revenue
fell by $2.3 billion since
he introduced his budget
last month.
“That’s a $2.3 billion
drop in revenues,” Cuomo
said. That’s as serious as a
heart attack. This is worse
than we anticipated.
The lost state income tax
revenue and the Gianaris
recommendation to the
PACB just hours later drew
a harsh statement from
Dani Lever, Cuomo’s director
of communications, who
referred to Gianaris signing
a letter last year that
was included in New York’s
entry into the Amazon
headquarters sweepstakes.
“This recommendation
puts the self interest
of a flip-flopping opponent
of the Amazon
project above the state’s
economic growth and is
a clear sign that the Senate
Democrats oppose the
25,000 to 40,000 new technology
jobs that would
diversify our state’s
economy — a move that
is especially shortsighted
given that today the State
announced an economic
slowdown,” Lever said.
“Every Democratic Senator
will now be called on
to defend their opposition
to the greatest economic
growth potential this State
has seen in 50 years.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Photo via Twitter/@NYCMayor
Gianaris named to panel that could kill Amazon project
State Sen. Michael Gianaris
has been a staunch opponent
of the Amazon HQ2 deal.
File photo
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