Intergovernmental Relations

Public Housing & Section 8 Workshop

September 30, 2015

Draft For discussion only

Agenda

Overview
Applications and Transfers
Remaining Family Members
Repairs
Section 8/ Leased Housing
Questions and Answers

The Office of Intergovernmental Relations

Staff are divided to cover boroughs and special constituencies
The Bronx and the Office of Public Advocate
Annie McGee Annie.McGee@nycha.nyc.gov (212) 306-8119
Brooklyn
Anella Tummings Anella.Tummings@nycha.nyc.gov (212)306-8787
Queens and Staten Island
Josephine Bartlett Josephine.Bartlett@nycha.nyc.gov (212) 306-3067
Lower Manhattan and Manhattan Borough President
Marcela Medina Marcela.Medina@nycha.nyc.gov (212)306-8776
Upper Manhattan Jennifer Montalvo Jennifer.Montalvo@nycha.nyc.gov
(212)306-8777
Federal Policy Melissa Quirk Melissa.Quirk@nycha.nyc.gov (212
) 306-3069
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NYCHA at a Glance
Mission Statement:
The New York City Housing Authority's
mission is to increase opportunities for low
and moderate-income New Yorkers by
providing safe, affordable housing and
facilitating access to social and community
services.

NYCHA is a public benefit

corporation

Chartered by the State Government

Regulated by the Federal Government
Funded by the Federal Government
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No regular source of funding from

NYCHA at a Glance
Conventional Public
Housing

403,917 authorized
residents

4.8% of City population;

8.1% of City rental
apartments

328 developments

270,201 families on waiting

list; turnover rate is about
3%

Section 8 / Leased
Housing
212,586 residents in
Section 8 units
88,467 apartments
were rented as of
January 1, 2015.
NYCHAs Section 8
program is the
largest in the country

Total Population Served:

607,399
121,356
families on
the waiting
list, which
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closed May 14, 2007

NYCHA at a Glance

Public Housing Program

Applications and Transfers

DRAFT

Applications & Transfers

Apply on-line at www.nyc.gov/nycha (available in Chinese,

English, Spanish, Russian)

Applicants select a first and second borough choice, provide

information about their total household income, family
composition, and current living situation.

Applicants can visit the NYCHA website to check the

status of an application, apply or renew an application and
update information such as; address, phone number, e-mail
address, income, family composition, borough preference or
request an accessible or elderly apartment
Computer kiosks are available at our Customer Contact
Centers
No appointment is necessary

Customer Contact Centers (Walk-In)

Open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Telephone #
(718) 707-7771:
Bronx
478 East Fordham Road (1 Fordham Plaza), 2nd Floor
Bronx, NY 10458
Brooklyn
787 Atlantic Avenue, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Applications & Transfers

If an eligibility interview has not been conducted, they must file a

new application every 24 months to remain on the waiting list

Applications can be assigned aWorking Family Priority and Need

Prioritybased upon the information provided, and placed on the
Housing Authoritys preliminary waiting list for an eligibility
interview

Borough choice - longer waiting lists and fewer vacancies in the

boroughs of Manhattan and Queens.

Tenant Selection & Assignment Plan (TSAP) - assures that NYCHA

receives and processes applications for conventional public housing
efficiently and in accordance with the laws. For Need Based and
Working Family Priority Codes check website: www.nyc.gov/nycha

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Need Based Priority

N0- City Agency Referrals- Applicants who are referred to the Housing Authority by
the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), or by the Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD), or from the Administration for Childrens Services
(ACS) under the Family Unification Program or Independent Living Program, or by the
Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) or Department of Homeless Services (DHS).

N1- Victims of Domestic Violence (VDV) and Intimidated Witnesses (IW) VDV- Applicants who have suffered serious or repeated abuse from a family member
or a person with whom they had, or continue to have, an intimate relationship.
IW- Applicants with a family member cooperating in a criminal
investigation/prosecution, where a member of the household has been threatened by
a defendant or by a person associated with a defendant. Applicants must be referred
directly to the Housing Authority from the District Attorneys Office. For list of required
documents for VDV visit NYCHAs website.

N4- Residing in Sub-Standard Conditions or Rent Hardship - Families who are

homeless, involuntarily displaced, living in substandard housing, doubled-up or
overcrowded in private housing, paying more than 50% of family gross income for rent,
or legally doubled-up and overcrowded in NYCHA public housing.

N8- No Need-Based Preference Families, who do not qualify for Need Based priorities,
and families who do not live or work in New York City.
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Priority

Disability is not a priority for new applicants

However, medical issues will be taken into
consideration when current residents are
looking to transfer

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Working Family Priority

Working Family priorities apply only to applicants who live, work, or will be working
in New York City.
A working family shall means: Income which is based on actual employment or if
the head of household and spouse, or sole member, are 62 years or older or
receiving Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, disability
benefits, or any other payments based on an individuals inability to work.

W0- Applicants with children referred by the New York City Department of
Homeless Services (DHS) pursuant to an agreement with the Housing
Authority and who qualify for any of the three (3) working family definitions
described below.
W1- Family incomes ranging from 51% to 80% of the area median income. For
a family of three they are making between $38,851 and $62,150.
W2-Family incomes ranging from 31% to 50% of area median income. For a
family of three they are making between $23,351 and $38,850.
W3- Family incomes ranging from none up to 30% of area median income. For
a family of three they are making between $0 and $23,350

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Transfers

Residents can transfer to another apartment in their current development (intradevelopment) or another development (inter-development)
Constituents must submit a transfer request at their management office

Residents remain on the waitlist for two years, if within that time they are not
called for an apartment, they may choose another development. Can choose
from Guide to Vacancies which lists developments with anticipated vacancies

Transfer Status Check our office can check the status of a transfer
Cannot predict when a persons referral will be selected - TSAP selects the
application or transfer request with the highest priority and certification date

Right Sizing # of occupants residing in the apartment determines the number

of rooms assigned
If apartment has too many rooms, lease requires tenants to sign a consent
form and move to a correct size apartment
May choose current development or any development

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Remaining Family Member Claims

DRAFT

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Remaining Family Members

Occupancy: No one can live in a NYCHA apartment unless they are an original family
member, added through family growth, or received written permission from developments
housing manager and remains continuously in the apartment, on all affidavits of income

Succession: After a tenancy ends (the tenant/ lessee(s) move out or die, a person can
succeed to a NYCHA lease if she/he qualifies as a Remaining Family Member and is
otherwise eligible for the NYCHA apartments
An original family member
Added through family growth
Received managements written permission to permanently live in the apartment not
less than one year immediately prior to the date the tenant vacates the apartment
or dies, and remained continuously in the apartment, meaning on all affidavits of
income. Must be: husband, wife, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother,
stepfather, stepmother, brother (including half-brother), sister (including half-sister),
grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
father-in-law, mother-in-law
Otherwise Eligible: The RFM must have the legal capacity to sign a lease, must pass a
criminal background check and must have a verifiable income on which to calculate a
rent.
A Remaining Family Member family who qualifies to succeed to a NYCHA apartment
must also move to an apartment of correct size, if required based on NYCHAs
Occupancy Standard
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Remaining Family Members

Grievance Remedy:
During the course of a tenancy, a tenant may request a grievance
hearing to review a development housing managers decision to
deny an occupancy permission request
After a tenancy ends, a Remaining Family Member (RFM) claimant
may request an RFM grievance hearing if he/she is not granted a
lease to the apartment. The RFM grievance is a three step process
as follows:
1.An initial grievance hearing with the development housing
manager
2.An automatic review of the managers decision by NYCHAs
borough management department
3.If during the previous steps the Remaining Family Member
claimant made any showing to support his/her claim to
succession but he/she is still denied a lease, then the claimant
may appeal to the Impartial Hearing Office for an administrative
grievance hearing concerning the claim. RFM claimant has the
burden to prove that he/she is eligible to succeed to the NYCHA
lease.
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Repairs & Ticket Numbers

DRAFT

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Repairs - Call the Customer Call Center!

NYCHA is committed to excel in customer service and improve our residents experience.
NYCHA asks public housing residents to call the Customer Contact Center (CCC) for assistance
with both emergency and non-emergency repairs:

When calling our office about emergency and non-emergency repairs, please provide
the repair request work order number(s) and the residents full name, address
(including apartment number), and phone number

CCC was created to ensure uniformity and standardization of work orders throughout
the Authority

Residents can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to receive a service date,
time, and confirmation ticket number

A NYCHA representative will call the resident 24 hours before the scheduled appointment
to confirm

The CCC provides interpretation services for residents who are limited English proficient to
ensure they receive the best information available

The Office of Intergovernmental Relations will not override the CCC in regard to nonemergency matters

CCC Phone # (718) 707-7771

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What is a Repair Emergency?

Emergency

No heat
Water leak
Gas leak Elevator problems
Exposure to lead based paint /
asbestos
Blocked sanitary sewer line
Broken front door or building
entrance
Smoke Detector out of order
Electrical Outlet outlet
sparks/partial power
Extermination rats
Refrigerator out of order
Window Guards damaged/missing

Non-Emergency
Unhinged closet door
Kitchen cabinets/carpentry repairs
Painting
Plastering
Loose kitchen or bathroom tiles
Individual stove burner out of
order
504 Retrofit bathroom door
retrofit
Loose door handle
Leaky faucets
Refrigerator Freezer Door Gasket
damaged/missing/ loose

Non skilled trade repair time: 10 days

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Fix-It-Forward
Fix-It-Forward offers common-sense fixes to NYCHAs repair
process
Track repairs and work order completion through dispatch
communications, instead of through paper work slips
Launch the MyNYCHA app, which will enable residents to create,
submit, view, schedule/reschedule and update inspections/maintenance
service requests 24/7.
Schedule appointments in one call. Complex projects typically require
multiple components (for example plumbing, carpentry, plastering, and
painting) and require an individual work order to be opened for each
part of the job. The initiative will allow residents and managers to
schedule all repairs with one call.
Address minor repairs in real-time when an apartment is inspected,
instead of scheduled later.
Invest in our infrastructure: The City allocated $300 million to a
roof replacement program to complete repairs at the worst roofs in
NYCHA during the next three years, addressing one of the primary
causes of mold.
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Leased Housing Department

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher
Program

DRAFT

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Section 8 Applications

The Section 8 waiting list is closed to new applicants

NYCHA is not accepting any emergency applications. NYCHA is
currently only accepting referrals from the Veterans Administration
(VA) for the VASH program

NYCHA will continue to provide a Section 8 housing subsidy for

current tenants who are already in an apartment

Section 8 applications will remain on waiting list until notified by

NYCHA.
No way to predict how long the wait is for an eligibility interview or
voucher issuance The number of families reached for eligibility
interviews depends on the availability of tenant based vouchers for
each fiscal year
As vouchers become available, applications are selected based on
priority and application certification date

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Section 8 Program Overview

The Leased Housing Department administers NYCHAs Section 8

Program

Eligibility for this program is based on a familys gross annual income

and family size. Families generally will pay 30% of their gross annual
income.

Rent subsidy, known as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), is

paid directly to the landlord upon execution of the HAP Contract

Household income and expense documentation must be submitted

annually to determine continued eligibility for the program

Under HUD Housing Quality Standards (HQS), all Section 8 units must
be inspected prior to the family moving in and regularly thereafter

If the unit or building fails HQS inspection, the landlord has 30 days to
make the repairs before payments are suspended (24 hours for life
threatening violations) . Residents must continue to pay their portion of
the rent, even when subsidy is suspended.

If the subsidy is suspended, the tenant will be issued a transfer

voucher. The transfer voucher is valid for 120 days. The tenant has
the option of transferring outside of NYC. This is called the Portability
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Option.

Moving Forward: NextGen NYCHA

Safe,
Clean,
and
Connected
Communities
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NextGen NYCHA Strategic Plan

Fund
1) Seek relief from
PILOT
2) Increase
collection of
resident rent and
fee
3) Lease ground
floor spaces
4) Reduce central
office costs

Operate

(Re)Build

5) Transform to
digital organization
6) Localize
property
management
7) Pursue
comprehensive
sustainability
agenda
8) Improve safety
and security

9) Refine capital
planning strategy
10) Provide land to
support creation of
affordable housing
units
11) Adopt design
excellence
practices
12) Use HUD
programs to
preserve units

Engage Residents

13) Transform from direct service provision to a partnership model

14) Leverage philanthropic dollars through a 501(c)(3)
15) Connect NYCHA residents to quality employment

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Thank you!

Questions and Answers

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