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Q&A
State funding for rehabilitation of vacant NYCHA units
1:21:07
ยท
151 sec
Council Member Chris Banks inquires about the governor's budget proposal for rehabilitating vacant NYCHA units.
- The governor's 2026 executive budget proposal includes $25 million for rehabilitating vacant NYCHA units over five years.
- This funding is expected to bring between 500 and 600 apartments back online.
- The timeline for starting repairs depends on negotiating a Grants Disbursement Agreement (GDA) with the state.
- NYCHA notes that the current governor's team has been helpful in approving GDAs quickly compared to the previous administration.
- The exact timeline for rehabilitation remains uncertain, pending the GDA negotiation and other factors.
Chris Banks
1:21:07
The governor recently released a, 2026 executive budget proposal, which includes about 25,000,000 for rehabilitation of vacant NYCHA units over five years.
1:21:20
How many vacant units could NYCHA rehabilitate for occupancy within the proposed 20,000,000?
Brian Honan
1:21:28
So the 25,000,000 which was part of the city of YES funding.
Chris Banks
1:21:31
Excuse Hold on a minute, Brian.
1:21:33
Sure.
1:21:33
Can we maintain order?
1:21:37
Everybody will have the opportunity to give testimony and that will be the opportunity to speak.
1:21:44
So, please, while the admin is giving their testimony, we wanna make sure we hear it clear from them.
1:21:50
Alright?
1:21:51
Thank you.
1:21:52
You may proceed.
Brian Honan
1:21:54
Thank you.
1:21:55
So, the 25,000,000 that is in the state budget that is part of the CDES funding will contribute to bringing about in between somewhere between five and six hundred apartments back online.
Chris Banks
1:22:11
You said 506 apartments?
Brian Honan
1:22:13
Yeah, between 506, correct.
Chris Banks
1:22:16
And, what's the timeframe from starting these repairs?
Brian Honan
1:22:21
So, state money is not unlike city money.
1:22:26
It's it's, it doesn't automatically go into our account.
1:22:30
We will have to negotiate with the state on something that's called a a GDA, a grants disbursement agreement.
1:22:38
And then we spend the money and they reimburse us.
1:22:42
So, a lot has to a lot, you know, plays on how quickly we can get that done.
1:22:47
I will say, to the governor's credit, her team has been very helpful in approving GDAs quickly compared to the last administration.
1:22:56
So, we expect a smooth transition, but we'll have to see.
1:23:00
We've never negotiated a GDA like this one before.
Chris Banks
1:23:05
So, you're saying the five to 600 units will be rehabilitated, within another year or so?
Brian Honan
1:23:13
Again, all depending on how the, GDA is agreed upon and, and and other factors.
1:23:19
But the faster that's agreed upon, the faster we could start, you know, with the plan to do that work.
Chris Banks
1:23:24
Okay.
1:23:26
I'm gonna give another round of questions, and then I'm gonna hand it over to Councilman Aviles.
1:23:34
When it comes to financial transparency hold hold a minute.
1:23:39
When it comes to transparency around the PAC selection for conversion, since 2023, '5 NYCHA developments have voted on whether to remain section nine public housing, move to the PAC program, or join public housing preservation trusts.