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Debate over resident engagement and voting rights in PACT/RAD conversions
1:25:24
ยท
5 min
Council Member Chris Banks presses NYCHA officials on the extent of resident engagement and voting rights in PACT/RAD conversions. NYCHA officials describe their engagement process but acknowledge there's no formal voting requirement.
- NYCHA engages with residents for nearly a year before conversion process begins
- Residents play a role in selecting partner teams and informing investments
- Council member argues for residents' right to vote on conversions
- NYCHA maintains final decision-making authority on conversions
Chris Banks
1:25:24
When it comes to a a RAD development being select or a development being selected for the RAD program, What engagement is done and is there a formal voting process for the residents?
Jonathan Gouveia
1:25:42
So I'm gonna ask my colleague Simon Kowitsky from Portfolio Planning within the Real Estate Group to talk about the extensive engagement that we do.
1:25:49
But we typically work with residents for almost a year before we put out a request for expressions of interest and get into the actual conversion.
1:26:00
But there's significant engagement.
1:26:03
Think about some of the factors that Brian We
Chris Banks
1:26:05
would really like to I had extensive engagement.
1:26:09
But that to me, we don't see that.
1:26:11
Maybe you can walk us step by step.
Jonathan Gouveia
1:26:16
I've asked Simon to come up because it's evolved over the last several years.
Chris Banks
1:26:20
Thank you.
UNKNOWN
1:26:21
And before you start, you could raise your right hand for me please.
1:26:24
Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee and to respond honestly to council member questions?
Simon Kawitzky
1:26:30
Yes.
UNKNOWN
1:26:31
And if you could state your name and title please.
Simon Kawitzky
1:26:33
My name is Simon Kowitski, I'm the vice president for portfolio planning in the real estate department at NYCHA.
1:26:38
So good morning, council member.
1:26:40
Thanks for your question.
1:26:41
To give a little bit more detail, the way that we identify developments for the PACT program is pretty straightforward.
1:26:48
Where are developments that have the highest level of physical distress that need critical investments?
1:26:54
Which developments have serious operational challenges that are difficult for NYCHA to manage.
1:26:59
These are developments that are located across many different buildings in a neighborhood where there's no centralized management office, for example.
1:27:08
And there are also developments which we have already brought through the program, which for various reasons have not been receiving any level of federal support.
1:27:17
So those different criteria have been really important for us as we identify developments for the PACT program.
1:27:25
When we have a development that we think could benefit from these investments, we reach out to the resident leadership as the first point of contact to describe the benefits that the program can bring, share information about how this works, what the process would look like.
1:27:42
And then from there, talk to them about how we would engage with their community and their residents about moving that process forward.
1:27:51
And I can get into, you know, as much detail
Chris Banks
1:27:53
as might say in a say that the tenant association is working hand in hand with you when you're doing these community engagements?
Simon Kawitzky
1:28:00
Resident leaders are a really critical stakeholder for us and absolutely.
1:28:05
Before we launch any process at a development, we engage with the resident leadership before bringing it to the wider community.
Chris Banks
1:28:13
So would you agree that a vote would be should be needed or to allow the residents to weigh in when these conversions are taking place?
Simon Kawitzky
1:28:25
There is no regulatory statutory requirement for NYCHA to hold a
Chris Banks
1:28:29
Well, I'm talking about what the requirement is.
1:28:32
I'm asking you again, would you agree that residents should have the right to determine how their communities look?
Simon Kawitzky
1:28:41
I absolutely agree that residents should should inform and help us determine the design and the investments that are coming as part of these initiatives.
1:28:51
I it is NYCHA's responsibility to maintain habitable communities and make sure that we can preserve our housing stock to serve residents into the future.
Chris Banks
1:29:01
Is this after you select them?
Simon Kawitzky
1:29:04
After we select a development for the PACT program?
Chris Banks
1:29:07
Yeah.
1:29:07
After you select a development.
1:29:08
Because after you select the development, then you move you're moving forward with engagement meetings, you're having these conversations.
1:29:16
But is there ever a chance for the residents for you to educate them on exactly how this conversion looks, the benefits, the pros and cons, and then there's way for them to then weigh in and say, well, we want it, we don't want it.
1:29:33
Yeah.
Simon Kawitzky
1:29:34
Sure.
1:29:34
So I can walk through the process for a typical PACT project.
1:29:39
As I mentioned, we first want to inform residents about the PACT program.
1:29:45
It starts with the resident leaders and then widens the circle to the community at large.
1:29:49
What is PACT?
1:29:50
There's a lot of misinformation out there about the program and how it works, What kinds of protections are going be in place for residents.
1:29:56
What their rent would look like under the PACT program.
1:29:59
We also conduct different kinds of outreach activities to help shape the designs and the investments that are actually coming.
1:30:09
Residents today play a central role in helping to make key decisions.
1:30:14
So they help us to select who those partner teams are.
1:30:17
That includes the developers, the contractors, the property managers, and the social services.
1:30:22
And then once the prop PAC partner team is onboarded, they work with us and the resident leadership to facilitate a process to really inform what those investments are gonna look like.
1:30:34
We also, at the end of that predevelopment phase before the renovations actually begin, we publish a community plan that codifies and documents all of the investments, physical, programmatic, so what kinds of operational enhancements, what kinds of security and social services are going to be provided, so all residents across the community can be aware and informed of what investments are coming.
Chris Banks
1:30:58
I just want to back up a little when you say that there's misinformation put out.