Q&A
Council Member Banks questions NYCHA on Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts
1:36:53
·
3 min
Council Member Chris Banks inquires about NYCHA's Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts, including improvements made, project timelines, and measures to prevent future delays. Dylan Baker-Rice from NYCHA provides updates on completed projects, ongoing work, and policy changes implemented to improve disaster remediation efforts.
- NYCHA has made significant upgrades to 35 developments, including boiler elevations, roof replacements, and hot water system installations.
- Remaining projects are expected to be completed by 2025, with one extending into 2026.
- NYCHA has implemented policy changes to integrate resiliency measures into regular capital projects and comprehensive modernization efforts to prevent future delays and cost overruns.
Chris Banks
1:36:53
Let me, now go on to, Superstorm Sandy recovery.
1:37:00
What improvement upgrades and repairs have been made at NYCHA Development since the impact of Superstorm Sandy?
1:37:08
And can you, share with us the numbers of improvements, like boiler replacements, window repairs, and roof replacements, and etcetera?
Dylan Baker-Rice
1:37:18
Yeah.
1:37:19
I can share updates.
1:37:20
Thank you, Chair.
1:37:24
So, funding was, allocated to cover 35 different developments, which is for a total of 256 buildings.
1:37:34
With the money, as my colleague Siobhan shared, a number of the boilers were elevated above the ground, in what we call annex buildings.
1:37:45
There's a 141 annex buildings that were installed as part of the program.
1:37:50
And the aim is for 72 boilers to be finalized when we close out the program.
1:37:58
To date, we've, finished construction of 56 boilers, and installed 183 domestic hot water systems as upgrades.
1:38:10
We've also completed a 187 roofs to date as part of that work.
1:38:15
Okay.
Chris Banks
1:38:16
Reporting revealed significant delays and course overruns for the construction projects related to super Superstorm Sandy.
1:38:24
Do you have an estimate, do you have an estimate on when, the remaining NYCHA development work attributed to Superstorm Sandy will be completed?
Dylan Baker-Rice
1:38:37
Yes, council chair.
1:38:41
Year to date, we closed out, 10 projects.
1:38:45
We have a further 8 projects remaining, and construction of those 8 projects, will, by and large, be finished by 25, with one more project extending into 26.
Chris Banks
1:38:59
Okay.
1:39:00
And what changes to the, policies or protocols, has NYCHA implemented to prevent similar delays in course overruns in the future, especially in the event that a disaster remediation work is needed?
Dylan Baker-Rice
1:39:15
Yeah.
1:39:16
That's a great question, Chair.
1:39:18
So we've certainly learned from it, and one of the big changes that we've implemented is integrating, so that whenever we're carrying out capital projects, instead of waiting for funding, we seek to add resiliency measures.
1:39:31
We're also looking to incorporate, resiliency measures into full building retrofits.
1:39:37
So a number of our comprehensive modernization projects focus on full building retrofits.
1:39:43
One of the challenges we had with the funding for Superstorm Sandy was that it was limited in scope and not able to cover plumbing upgrades and interior work.
1:39:54
And so when we incorporate that into a comprehensive modernization where we rehab the entire development, we're better able to address those in unit repair needs in addition to the resiliency measures.
Chris Banks
1:40:06
Alright.
1:40:06
Thank you.
