EL PAÍS in English | The flip side of New York’s skyline: Crumbling public housing by María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo Cobo

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New York’s skyline may be dominated by luxury towers, but a hidden crisis looms in its public‑housing sector: nearly one in 20 residents—mostly African‑American and Latino—live in aging NYCHA complexes that are increasingly costly to repair, with some buildings so deteriorated they are slated for demolition. The city’s $1.2 billion plan for four Chelsea projects would replace 17 low‑rise apartments with six new skyscrapers, rehousing current tenants while adding mixed‑rent and premium units, a move backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani but opposed by activists and delayed by lawsuits. The proposal highlights broader challenges: soaring market rents, long waiting lists, limited federal vouchers, and a tentative progressive tax on expensive vacant properties that together underscore the precarious future of New York’s social‑housing system.

Read more: https://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-05-16/the-flip-side-of-new-yorks-skyline-crumbling-public-housing.html

#ZohranMamdani #NYCHA #HudsonYards

The flip side of New York’s skyline: Crumbling public housing

One in 20 New Yorkers, mostly African Americans and Latinos, live in aging buildings. Refurbishing them would be more expensive than tearing them down

EL PAÍS English

NYCHA tenants in Queens say they’ve been without cooking gas for weeks

Tenants in NYCHA’s Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City say they’ve been living without gas in their units for several weeks. They’re now sounding the alarm about this and other issues that have gone unfixed by the housing agency. NYCHA responds to outage Tenants sai…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Cooking #NYCHA
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2635532/nycha-tenants-in-queens-say-theyve-been-without-cooking-gas-for-weeks/

NYCHA Journal article highlights residents happy with building repairs post-PACT (the split in project ownership between public and private entities). Quotes suggest the "repairs" are mostly surface level, i.e., kitchen, bathroom, common area remodeling. Will PACT result in the kind of repairs that prevent a 20-floor chimney collapse or did public property go private just for them to slap a new coat of paint on things?
https://nychajournal.nyc/pact-a-better-way-of-living-for-nycha-residents/
#NYCHA #PublicHousing #PACT
PACT: ‘A Better Way of Living’ for NYCHA Residents - The NYCHA Journal

In just six years, NYCHA’s Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program has generated more than $3.4 billion in capital funding for comprehensive apartment renovations and building infrastructure improvements for nearly 15,500 households across the city. An additional 19,700 NYCHA households are slated to receive the enhancements at properties that are currently in the process of

The NYCHA Journal - The NYCHA Journal has informed and inspired residents since 1970, covering the news, contributions, and uplifting stories of the NYCHA community while providing the latest information on Authority initiatives.
Hundreds of Squatters Took Over Vacant #NYCHA Apartments, City Watchdog Finds https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/03/squatters-illegal-nycha-vacant-apartments/
Hundreds of Squatters Took Over Vacant NYCHA Apartments, City Watchdog Finds

NYCHA didn't check to see if apartments were actually empty, allowing unauthorized tenants to move into more than 600 of them, reports the Department of Investigation.

THE CITY - NYC News
Adams Quietly Uses Free Internet at NYCHA to Expand Police…

The Adams administration is using its flagship broadband program to give police real-time access to NYCHA camera feeds — without telling anyone.

New York Focus
#NYCHA Paid Out Millions to Bribe-Paying Contractors Implicated in #Corruption Takedown https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/16/nycha-super-bribes-contractors/
NYCHA Paid Out Millions to Bribe-Paying Contractors Implicated in Corruption Takedown

An investigation by THE CITY finds contractors who publicly confessed to paying thousands of bribes to Housing Authority staff were subsequently awarded hundreds of no-bid contracts. NYCHA says it had no idea.

THE CITY - NYC News

I'm a New Yorker, born and raised, a child of the early 70s who free ranged on the streets of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. In my high school years I commuted, first from Jamaica then from Jackson Heights, to the Bronx.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_Houses

#NewYork
#RutgersHouses
#NYCHA
#Chinatown
#LowerEastSide
#NYCTA
#JamaicaQueens
#JacksonHeights
#GenX

Rutgers Houses - Wikipedia

Fascinating article about window unit #heatpumps tested in #NYCHA public housing. They used 87% less energy than steam heat!

"Essentially, NYCHA leveraged its buying power to spark innovation and make this new kind of product available in the market."

https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/02/27/nycha-electric-heat-pumps-housing-energy-queens/

#nyc #energy

Electric Heat Pumps Get Warm Reviews at Queens Public Housing Development

Woodside Houses residents say the eco-friendly alternatives to steam radiators have served them well through the winter.

THE CITY - NYC News
Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

Stop Animal Cruelty by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

Change.org
How Much Does It Cost #NYCHA to Replace a Lightbulb? $708 in One Case https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/02/26/lightbulbs-bribery-corruption-nycha/
How Much Does It Cost NYCHA to Replace a Lightbulb? $708 in One Case

The micro contracts awarded to vendors at the center of the NYCHA bribery scandal are rife with inflated and wildly inconsistent costs, an analysis by THE CITY finds.

THE CITY - NYC News