Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2010
Contact: media@nycha.nyc.gov, (212) 306-3322

Statement of Chairman John B. Rhea on HUD's Allocation of $23M to Support NYCHA's Section 8 Program

More than 100,000 New York City families rely on the federal Section 8 program, but recently the continued support of thousands of participants became uncertain when increased demand and much lower than normal attrition rates created a major gap in NYCHA’s program budget and that of hundreds of public authorities across the country. HUD’s allocation of more than $23 million to help fill that gap is an enormous help, and we are extremely grateful to Secretary Donovan, Senator Schumer and the entire New York delegation for coming through with these much-needed funds. Make no mistake, our problem is still a severe one. We still must find other sources of money to reduce the $21 million-plus deficit that remains, and we are aggressively pursuing other options to financially stabilize the program.