Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
NYCHA apartment vacancies and challenges in filling them
0:34:53
ยท
162 sec
Council Member Brewer inquires about NYCHA's vacant apartments and the challenges in filling them. NYCHA's Chief Operating Officer, Eva Trimble, explains that there are over 8,000 vacant units, with about 5,700 available for turnover.
- NYCHA is turning over about 430 units per month, but 60% go to transfers, making it difficult to reduce the overall number of vacancies.
- The process of moving tenants into renovated apartments can be delayed due to various factors, including the need for security deposits and moving costs.
- NYCHA faces challenges in reducing the total number of vacancies due to the high number of transfers and ongoing renovation needs.
Gale A. Brewer
0:34:53
The vacancies.
0:34:54
There's two kinds of vacancies.
0:34:55
There's the apartment vacancies and then I think there's also commercial vacancies.
0:34:59
I know in one development, I got 40 vacancies.
0:35:02
Can you in terms of the I know you have a capital budget challenge, but how are you addressing the vacancies?
0:35:09
Because it's hard for the public to understand we have a housing crisis and there are vacant apartments.
Eva Trimble
0:35:16
Yes.
0:35:16
Thank you, council member Brewer.
0:35:18
As I just mentioned, we have been very focused
Gale A. Brewer
0:35:21
on our number, but it's not there's a lot more to go.
0:35:24
Go ahead.
Eva Trimble
0:35:24
Yeah.
0:35:24
There's definitely there's more to go.
0:35:26
One of our biggest challenges is that 60% of the vacancies go to transfers.
0:35:33
So we also have a significant number of emergency transfers and other transfer needs.
0:35:37
So every time move someone in, another vacant unit opens up.
0:35:42
And so that's really why it's hard to see that the overall number of vacants go down because of the the level of transfers that we're doing.
Gale A. Brewer
0:35:50
I know but there's still I do you have a number of vacancies, fire, mold, etcetera, ones that need to be restored, renovated?
0:36:00
What's that number?
Eva Trimble
0:36:02
So our total number of vacant units is just over 8,000.
0:36:07
That includes about 1,600, almost 1,700 that are off the rent roll temporarily awaiting some form of modernization or rehab, about 600 that are vacant but already matched to a resident to prepare for move in.
0:36:25
And then about what we say of about 5,700 is what we call vacant and available.
0:36:29
So that's our turnover universe.
0:36:32
And that 5,700, we're working on about four thirty turn overs a month.
0:36:37
But again, with 60% of those going to transfers, it's hard to to make headway on the overall number.
Gale A. Brewer
0:36:43
Okay.
0:36:44
How long does it take when a rent fixed up, renovated, how long does it take to get somebody into an apartment?
0:36:51
Is that
Eva Trimble
0:36:52
It varies.
0:36:53
And we're doing a lot of data work around that.
0:36:56
I get your point about
Gale A. Brewer
0:36:57
that, just so you know.
0:36:58
Yeah.
0:36:59
It depends from what to what?
Eva Trimble
0:37:01
It it depends on, you know, residents having to again, for for transfers admissions, they still right now have to come up with rental fees, particularly for new admissions, the security deposit first month.
0:37:15
And many times they work with HRA to get some of that assistance.
0:37:19
And then of course moving costs.
0:37:21
And so we match to a unit after the turnover is complete so they see a renovated apartment, but then they still have to come with the funding available to sign the lease and get their keys and then do their move in.
0:37:33
And so sometimes there are delays in that side of the process.
0:37:35
Okay.