"The report, published Tuesday, calls for NYCHA to keep better tabs on its vacant homes, the majority of which are awaiting-often extensive, and legally required-remediation work after the prior tenant moved out and before they can be rented again."
"Investigators issued several recommendations, including that the housing authority conduct monthly inspections of empty units-to 'check for signs of unauthorized occupants'-and that it look into upgrading its locks to avoid multiple vacant apartments being accessible via the same key, as is NYCHA's current practice."
"That frequently includes costly lead paint and asbestos abatement-required by local law and under NYCHA's federal monitorship-work which takes an average of four to six months to complete, officials have said. In general, it takes the housing authority an average of 326 days to turnaround a vacant apartment for new occupancy."
New York City's Department of Investigation reports that vacant apartments in NYCHA buildings pose significant safety hazards and enable unauthorized occupancy. As of January, over 6,800 units remained unoccupied, with vacancies more than doubling since 2022 despite 165,000 people on the waiting list. Most vacancies result from required remediation work, including lead paint and asbestos abatement, which averages four to six months. The turnaround time for preparing vacant apartments averages 326 days. Investigators recommend monthly inspections of empty units to detect unauthorized occupants and upgrading locks to prevent multiple apartments from being accessible with the same key, addressing current NYCHA security vulnerabilities.
#nycha-housing-vacancy #public-housing-safety #squatters-and-trespassers #housing-authority-oversight #remediation-delays
Read at Planetizen
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]