Mayor Eric Adams stood with public housing residents in Harlem on Monday and urged lawmakers in Albany to pass legislation that supporters said would unlock “billions” in new funding from the federal government and private investors to make much needed repairs to the city’s deteriorating public housing stock.
As it’s written, the legislation, introduced May 2021, would establish a new entity called the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust, a public-benefit corporation that would be responsible for converting thousands of NYCHA units from what’s known as Section 9 of the U.S.
Under the pending legislation, the newly formed trust could then use that steady stream of extra federal dollars to issue bonds as a means to raise additional funding — essentially borrowing money from private investors.If passed, the legislation is estimated to convert roughly 25,000 NYCHA units from the Section 9 program, though Russ said NYCHA will continue to own the buildings and land they sit on. And, he said all residents can vote to opt into the new program.
Marquis Jenkins, co-founder of Residents to Preserve Public Housing, formed three years ago to oppose the legislation when it was first introduced in 2019, said lawmakers are pushing the plan on residents. “The developments or the property then goes into foreclosure,” Jenkins said, adding that if the law passes, he believes it will further erode the Housing Act’s guarantees to provide public housing for low- and middle-income Americans.Opponents also said they were concerned about eligibility. Unlike Section 8, they said NYCHA tenants are not subject to income limits under Section 9 in determining their eligibility to stay in their homes.