Increases the membership of the New York City Housing Authority

BILL NUMBER:S123

Title of bill

An act to amend the public housing law, in relation to the membership of the New York City Housing Authority

Purpose

Increases the membership of the New York City Housing Authority and alters the term limits and removal procedures governing such members to provide greater accountability.

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Amends the public housing law to alter the membership of the New York Housing Authority by adding three new members one of whom shall be a resident of NYCHA housing, and amending the member removal procedure so that resident members shall serve fixed three year terms and all non-resident member shall be removable at the pleasure of the Mayor of New York City.

Section 2. Establishes the effective date.

Justification

A recent series of events make it clear that the leadership of the New York City Housing Authority is operating in a manner where accountability and transparency are non-existent and secrecy and mismanagement are the norm. In 2011, the NYCHA Improving Customer Experience (NICE) program, and the $36 million Seibel computer system at the program's heart, led to a situation where the administration of the Section 8 housing program essentially ceased to function. There were widespread reports of missed payments, unexplained and unappealable inspection failures, mislaid and unprocessed documents, wrongful evictions, and a basic failure of communication. Although the mismanagement of the NICE system led to a series of highly critical news stories, a comprehensive negative report from the office of the Public Advocate and at least two class action lawsuits, NYCHA's leadership has never publicly acknowledged the problems, let alone addressed what is being done to fix them.

In the wake of NICE's failure, NYCHA has compounded the lack of trust in its administration by refusing to release the contents of a $10 million outside report on its programs and management paid for by taxpayer dollars. Shortly after a news story on its refusal to disclose the report, it came to light that NYCHA failed to install any of the $42 million worth of publicly funded surveillance cameras that were intended to protect its residents. These failures, as well as many other less publicized mistakes, and the complete lack of transparency or accountability in their aftermath unequivocally demonstrate the need for a systemic change in the way NYCHA is run. This bill will restructure the membership of NYCHA's board to provide new perspectives by adding three new members and foster accountability by making non-resident board members removable at the pleasure of the Mayor. While this legislation will not cure all of NYCHA's problems, it is a critical step towards increased transparency, responsibility and a

new direction for a troubled institution that is vitally important to the City of New York.

Legislative history

2011-12: S.7841

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.