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QUESTION
What explains the discrepancy in occupancy rates reported by NYCHA's metrics and Ops' metrics?
1:46:28
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Director Dan Steinberg acknowledges the need to track the actual number of vacant apartments and mentions NYCHA's upcoming comprehensive review. Council Member Lincoln Restler highlights the urgent issue of around 5,000 vacant apartments, up from under 500, and its potential to house homeless individuals.
- NYCHA's metrics reports a 94.23% occupancy rate, conflicting with the PMMR's reported 96.5%.
- Steinberg admits the Mayor's Office of Operations currently does not track the raw number of vacant apartments but recognizes its importance.
- NYCHA is slated for an in-depth review that could lead to improved data tracking and performance metrics.
- Restler raises concerns over the significant increase in vacant apartments and suggests they could greatly aid in housing the homeless.
- The discrepancy in occupancy rates and the issue of vacant apartments are presented as critical concerns needing immediate attention and action.
Lincoln Restler
1:46:28
I'm gonna redo I I'm only gonna ask actually about nitrile occupancy.
1:46:35
So I we saw on the PMMR that occupancy is down in total next units to 96.5%, down from nearly 99% in FY21 when the mayor came into office.
1:46:48
Nitrometrics, though, reported only 94.23 percent occupancy at the same time.
1:46:55
Just wondering if you could speak to the discrepancy there between the nitrile metrics and the ops metrics and the PMMR.
1:47:04
And generally, I'm very concerned about the 10th old increase in vacant nights apartments.
1:47:11
I don't believe that you're tracking the turnover time and the vacancy as it may unless I forgive me if I missed it.
1:47:19
But It's the number of vacant nitrile units.
1:47:24
I don't I didn't believe it was trapped in the PMMR explicitly as a hard number.
1:47:30
I was just wondering, is that something that you're all thinking about considering how much attention and how problematic an issue is this this has been?
1:47:36
Is this data that you're interested in tracking moving forward?
Dan Steinberg
1:47:39
I think it's a great suggestion.
1:47:41
I I have to take a closer look, but I believe that you're right, that we don't track the wrong number of vacant apartments.
1:47:46
It's a really important input, you know, for for us, you always want to know your denominator.
1:47:51
If you're measuring how fast something's done, you wanna know how many times you're doing it.
1:47:56
And need to do it.
1:47:57
So so, yeah, we should take a look at that.
1:48:05
It was something else.
1:48:05
What was the other question?
1:48:09
Oh, yeah.
1:48:09
It's coming up.
1:48:10
Right?
1:48:10
Oh, very good timing.
1:48:11
Counsel member So, you know, we have this cohort process.
1:48:15
I mentioned it at a high level where we're subjecting each agency, this kind of very involved review.
1:48:21
Where they have to realign what they're measuring with what they describe as their mission and their functions.
1:48:27
Nita is actually about to go through our cohort.
1:48:30
And so it's a really good moment to and I know they have their own stories they wanna tell in the sense that they've created new systems for responding to to tenant problems, and they feel like they have a much more robust data infrastructure to generate performance data from.
1:48:46
So I think we we're gonna have a real opportunity to improve that channel.
Lincoln Restler
1:48:49
I hear you.
1:48:50
I just like, the approximately 5000 vacant apartments is one of the most troubling trends that we've seen over these 2 years.
1:48:59
It was under 500 when the mayor came into office and it's about 5000 today.
1:49:03
So that is a just huge increase.
1:49:05
I recognize that there are some changes in, like, paint remediation that have slowed things down and made things challenging.
1:49:12
A little more that have that have contributed to this.
1:49:15
But ultimately, this is a question of resources and management.
1:49:19
And 5000 apartments could house 15,000 homeless people.
1:49:24
Right?
1:49:25
If you gave a 100% of those units over, or you could do half for folks that are special populations of folks ex you know, exiting DHL shelter and other, you know, D.
1:49:34
V.
1:49:34
Shelters and other places, and half for folks off the waiting list.
1:49:37
It could be a huge housing resource state.
1:49:40
And it it should be.
1:49:42
And I I believe this administration has reduced the percentage of formerly homeless people that are going into night housing as well, which is an area of real concern.
1:49:51
So I do think I appreciate that you're focused on it with Nitro Management.
1:49:54
There's been some reporting in the press since our last oversight hearings on this that Nitro's central management getting involved in trying to address this issue hasn't made much of a difference because we haven't seen the data improve.
1:50:08
I think we need help on this and it's really to see such a valuable resource of deeply affordable housing, sitting vacant, when it should be helping people out a shelter, it it just it needs real attention and and swift.
1:50:26
And swiftly.
1:50:28
I will I'd like to focus on a couple more topics briefly, not in great depth.