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Q&A
Explanation and impact of block grants on public housing funding
3:34:19
·
166 sec
NYCHA officials explain the concept of block grants and their potential impact on public housing funding in response to Council Member Bottcher's questions. They detail how the proposed changes would affect current funding mechanisms and express concerns about the implications.
- Block grants would replace current formula-based funding for housing programs
- The proposed block grant would result in a 43-45% cut, amounting to a $26.7 billion reduction across affected programs
- Officials highlight two main issues: substantial cuts to Section 8 and 9 funding, and the shift to state-managed block grants with potential additional regulations
Erik Bottcher
3:34:19
Could you explain to the public the concept of a block grant and why does a block grant amount to a cut?
3:35:50
And the amount of the block grant that the Trump administration is proposing for New York, it would be considerably less than what we currently require.
3:36:16
And you may or may not be able to answer this but what does NYCHA believe the likelihood of these cuts is of getting through Congress?
Annika Lescott-Martinez
3:34:27
Sure.
3:34:28
So the way that the programs are funded now are through formulas.
3:34:32
So HUD takes into account on the Section Eight side how many vouchers we have leased.
3:34:38
They make projections as to how many vouchers we may lease up, and they give us funding accordingly.
3:34:44
It is also prorated potentially by what is actually available from Congress.
3:34:51
On the section nine side, there's an operating formula that takes into account our expenses, things like utilities, various program expenses, TPA funds, etc.
3:35:01
And we are giving an eligibility number.
3:35:04
Again depending on what Congress does that number is then prorated.
3:35:07
So we are essentially funded for every unit of public housing and similarly for every unit of Section eight subject to the funding available.
3:35:15
In a block grant that may not matter.
3:35:19
So they say New York State, you have x billions of dollars for all of these programs, you figure it out.
3:35:27
And consequently, you consider the regulations, right.
3:35:32
There could be different requirements than there are now on tenants, on materials, etcetera.
3:35:38
And so it is really concerning if we don't have funding per unit, per family, even though it is underfunded currently, it is still miles better than what they are proposing now.
3:36:03
That is correct council member.
3:36:04
It would be 43 to 45% less.
3:36:07
And so in dollar terms, it is a $26,700,000,000 cut across those programs.
3:36:14
And that is significant.
Lisa Bova-Hiatt
3:36:29
We have no idea.
3:36:32
But I just want to put a fine point on what our CFO said and make sure that people understand.
3:36:37
There are really two things that are happening here.
3:36:40
One is a substantial cut to Section eight and Section nine funding across the board.
3:36:48
And then this idea of whatever money is left, whatever money they will give they're going to push that down to the state in a block grant.
3:36:59
So it's really two things.
3:37:01
And then add additional regulations on top of that.