FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2020
CONTACT: media@nycha.nyc.gov

NYCHA INTRODUCES PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR TRANSFORMATION PLAN UNDER INNOVATIVE BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

The Transformation Plan is one part of the Blueprint and proposes significant changes to NYCHA’s operations and business model, focusing on compliance, creating a culture of service, and improving service delivery.
NEW YORK - Today is the first day of the public comment period for NYCHA’s Transformation Plan. As part of the 2019 HUD Agreement, NYCHA is required to work collaboratively with the Federal Monitor to prepare a new organizational plan, and this Transformation Plan is the result of that coordination, driven by ideas and feedback NYCHA received through numerous stakeholder engagement sessions throughout 2019 and 2020.

The Transformation Plan is a part of NYCHA’s Blueprint for Change, a comprehensive set of ideas to transform the Authority, including the Stabilization Strategy (capital funding for 110,000 units) introduced in July, which calls for a public trust to leverage valuable federal vouchers to raise capital for NYCHA properties. These initiatives will generate jobs and contribute to the city’s economic recovery while preserving NYCHA for future generations.

“This Transformation Plan builds upon the intensive work NYCHA has been doing to make progress in key areas that most impact residents' quality of life and is centered around the imperative to foster a new culture of service at the Authority,” said NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ. “We look forward to making progress together and using this input from our residents and all stakeholders, and putting it toward these initiatives to change the way we do business.” 

 

This public comment period is open to all residents and stakeholders.
“Transforming NYCHA's business model and service delivery is an extraordinary undertaking and is an important step to ensuring that the Authority is able to meet the needs of every NYCHA family,” said Deputy Mayor Vicki Been. “With this plan, NYCHA aims to fundamentally change the quality of life at each of its developments for generations to come. Input from residents and community is central to achieving this goal, and to ensuring NYCHA's operations are as inclusive, comprehensive and efficient as possible.”

“The Transformation Plan released by NYCHA today is an important first step towards developing the comprehensive Organizational Plan required by the 2019 HUD Agreement,” said NYCHA Federal Monitor Bart M. Schwartz. “We look forward to reviewing it in detail and working with NYCHA to develop an implementation strategy. I encourage residents and other stakeholders to engage in the review process with us by submitting comments, and at the same time continue to report concerns to our team, so we can address critical issues and move forward with our important work.”

The Transformation Plan proposes changes based on five key organizational principles:

• Changing the way we do business by implementing new policies and procedures across the portfolio.
• Responding quickly to conditions at NYCHA properties.
• Ensuring quality at points of service.
• Delivering large-scale projects on time.
• Establishing clear management structures so individual employees can be measured against clearly defined goals.

To reach these goals, NYCHA identified three major organizational changes, which are outlined in the Transformation Plan:

• Changes to NYCHA’s Board and executive management structure that will better align functions across the organization and streamline business decision-making.
• Changes to NYCHA’s property portfolios and property operations, including moving from a six-borough management structure to four geographic management boroughs and decentralizing further into smaller neighborhood management groups within each borough. This will allow managers to have more line of sight at the developments and better prioritize workload, allowing for faster repairs and more cohesive management, and resident connections at the property level.
• Changes to how central office functions are aligned to support property operations, based on work volume and needs.

The Transformation Plan also includes numerous business process improvements that focus on service delivery pain points as identified by residents and employees, such as the Annual Review process and the Alternative Work Schedule program, along with new ideas for how NYCHA can improve productivity through technology and supply chain management, improve resident partnerships and expand resident economic opportunities, and empower employees through learning and development.  

The Transformation Plan is a vision for dramatic but sustainable change to NYCHA’s governance and leadership structure, property management systems, and central support functions. The Plan includes a set of strategies that will set the agency on a path to a far brighter future, but it is only the beginning of this process. As this plan is completed, NYCHA will turn to the difficult task of implementing these structural and process changes in a resource-constrained environment. In building its implementation plan, NYCHA will evaluate the cost-benefit of each possible change and begin to make the difficult choices that will define the agency for years to come.

The public comment period will be open from November 16, 2020, to December 28, 2020. To submit a comment, please visit on.nyc.gov/blueprintforchange. NYCHA residents can also make an appointment with their property management office to receive a printed copy of the draft plan in English and additional languages, and can submit comments by paper. 

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About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
The New York City Housing Authority is the largest public housing authority in North America, housing nearly 400,000 residents. NYCHA’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. Over 390,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 316 public housing developments and PACT developments around the five boroughs. Over 190,000 receive subsidized rental assistance in private homes through the NYCHA-administered Section 8 Leased Housing Program. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/nycha, and for regular updates on NYCHA news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/NYCHA and www.twitter.com/NYCHA.