AGENCY TESTIMONY
Facility management and repair process for OACs in NYCHA buildings
0:15:09
ยท
3 min
Ryan Murray outlines the process for managing facilities and addressing repairs in Older Adult Centers (OACs) located in NYCHA buildings. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining these facilities and the system in place for reporting and addressing issues.
- OACs report issues to the NYCHA property manager or directly to NYCHA, either in person or by phone
- NYCHA issues a ticket number for each reported problem, which is then addressed or referred based on complexity
- NYC Aging prioritizes service continuity and works to ensure centers remain open during repairs
- A NYCHA liaison at NYC Aging regularly reviews reports of open tickets and escalates issues when necessary
- NYC Aging and NYCHA hold regular meetings to address ongoing facility concerns and work towards resolutions
Ryan Murray
0:15:09
NYC Aging and NYCHA agree that the facility management and funding are large concerns to running these centres effectively.
0:15:16
Just as repairs and maintenance concerns at NYCHA Apartments, the state of our facilities are also a concern and an area where we frequently interface.
0:15:27
In order to provide older adults in the OACs a safe experience, we have a system in place with our partners at NYCHA to report and address issues or complaints when they arise.
0:15:38
First, the center itself should report an issue either to the property manager or to NICHA, whether that be in person or over the phone.
0:15:48
NICHA located OACs maintain the relationship with the property managers for the facility repairs like any other center would if it was with a landlord.
0:15:58
NYCHA then issues a ticket number to the individual who reported the problem, and the issue is either addressed or potentially referred out based on its complexity.
0:16:07
As you can imagine, some issues are fixed immediately.
0:16:10
But as NYCHA must prioritize repairs throughout their portfolio, some issues may be addressed later when they do not impede the safe functioning of the center, such as repainting needs or light replacements.
0:16:22
Major issues, such as roof and ceiling leads or flooded spaces, which still receive will still receive a ticket number but will be triaged differently based on the severity and the impact of the space, the OAC or the older adults themselves.
0:16:36
In all cases, NYC Aging prioritizes the service continuity, and we do everything we can to ensure that centers remain open.
0:16:48
In order to better monitor these repairs and determine which need to be escalated, the NYCHA liaison at NYC Aging regularly reviews reports of open tickets that need needs at individual centers.
0:17:03
Our goal is to create constant communication and open dialogue between our agencies to ensure that repairs do not languish and the needs are addressed quickly.
0:17:12
During repairs, if a center is indeed closed for whatever reason, older adults at those locations clearly will know what options they have for meals and programming at nearby centers or any other alternatives which best meet their needs.
0:17:28
When a repair ticket goes unaddressed, a second complaint might be opened with NYCHA.
0:17:32
It is escalated to the escalation happens, a visit to the property manager takes place, and they and then we are working with them, as part of what we refer to as our NYCHA escalation team.
0:17:46
We bring these issues up during regular meetings with NYCHA facility staff and work quickly towards a resolution for that center.
0:17:54
Because we are a NYCHA space, while NYC aging may wish to fix an issue ourselves, we're not always able to do so, must rely on NYCHA to escalate the matter further in order to remedy the situation.
0:18:06
We do much of that escalation through the NYCHA liaison and NYCH Jane, team that manages the process with and meetings for NYCHA.
0:18:15
We ensure that the appropriate escalation happens, to avoid any center closures or alterations to programming.
0:18:23
It is imperative that we monitor and respond quickly to repair issues so that there's no disruption to services for older adults.