Jarrett Murphy

A view of the Castle Hill Houses from the Castle Hill Houses, which has more than 2,000 apartments. That’s more than the entire public-housing portfolio of Albany, Schenectady or Troy.

 

There is much to digest in the statement that came on Thursday afternoon from the state capitol indicating that Governor Cuomo is open to declaring a state of emergency at NYCHA.

In it, the governor’s counsel Alphonso David, responding to a letter from City Councilmember Robert Cornegy, says “the situation at the New York City Public Housing Authority is intolerable” that the state “stands ready to help in any way possible,” that Cuomo’s support for NYCHA has been “unprecedented and historic” and that “the problem is not merely funding, but even more so the management’s ability to actually perform the necessary repairs” to fix lead paint, mold and heating hazards.

Except for the first one—about the situation being intolerable—each of those points is open to argument. Apparently, so is Cornegy’s role in the issue: The New York Post has Councilman Ritchie Torres mocking Cornegy’s involvement as late and lacking.

If, however, a debate is about to break out over the proper state role in NYCHA, another part of David’s statement bears consideration: the part where he writes, “There are over 150 public housing authorities in the state, and NYCHA is the only one to get significant state financial aid.”

This is true, but a little misleading.

As the chart below, which uses data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, makes clear, NYCHA is way way way way bigger than any other public housing authority in the state. If any “PHA” is going to get “significant State financial aid,” it’s probably the one with five times as many public-housing apartments as the rest of the state combined.

One way of understanding this scale: There are 20,000 more public-housing apartments in Manhattan than there are in all of  the Empire State outside New York City.

Public Housing Authority Public Housing Units Housing Choice Voucher (a.k.a. Section 8) Allotment* Total Units
New York City Housing Authority 172,879 99,862 272,741
NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation 48,533 48,533
NYC Dept of Housing Preservation and Dev 36,372 36,372
Rochester Housing Authority 2,350 9,765 12,115
Syracuse Housing Authority 2,313 4,090 6,403
Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority 4,066 1,444 5,510
Town of Amherst 5,480 5,480
The Municipal Hsng Authority City Yonkers 2,099 3,282 5,381
City of Buffalo 5,216 5,216
Albany Housing Authority 1,799 3,186 4,985
Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority 1,011 1,387 2,398
Troy Housing Authority 1,050 925 1,975
Binghamton Housing Authority 639 821 1,460
Ithaca Housing Authority 341 992 1,333
Village of Manlius 1,326 1,326
Town of Hempstead Housing Authority 1,309 1,309
City of Utica 1,285 1,285
Utica Housing Authority 891 316 1,207
City of New Rochelle Housing Authority 1,165 1,165
Glens Falls Housing Authority 306 739 1,045
Town of Islip Housing Authority 1,044 1,044
City of Poughkeepsie 1,033 1,033
White Plains Housing Authority 450 548 998
Town of Brookhaven  Dept. of Housing & Human 994 994
Rome Housing Authority 281 690 971
City of Niagara Falls 967 967
Village of Spring Valley HA 146 815 961
Town of Oyster Bay Housing Authority 911 911
Town of Babylon 881 881
Watertown Housing Authority 642 215 857
Niagara Falls Housing Authority 845 845
Plattsburgh Housing Authority 601 191 792
Housing Authority of Long Beach 374 389 763
Village of Hempstead HA 281 475 756
Amsterdam Housing Authority 261 468 729
City of Peekskill 726 726
New Rochelle Housing Authority 303 397 700
Cortland Housing Authority 379 306 685
Village of New Square PHA 670 670
Monticello Housing Authority 98 554 652
Town of Mamaroneck HA 647 647
Town of Ramapo Housing Authority 642 642
Cohoes Housing Authority 308 327 635
Town of Huntington Housing Authority 40 573 613
City of North Tonawanda 609 609
Housing Authority of Newburgh 135 431 566
Freeport Housing Authority 350 211 561
The City of Beacon Housing Authority 244 309 553
Gloversville Housing Authority 293 251 544
Lockport Housing Authority 352 188 540
Town of Union Community Development 522 522
Kingston Housing Authority 162 359 521
Jamestown Housing Authority 246 268 514
Poughkeepsie Housing Authority 359 147 506
Village of Fairport 497 497
Lackawanna Municipal Housing Authority 490 490
City of Oswego  Office of Community Dev. 489 489
City of Fulton 481 481
Elmira Housing Authority 478 478
Auburn Housing Authority 50 421 471
Town of Colonie 434 434
Saratoga Springs Housing Authority 339 90 429
Town of Hempstead Dept. of Urban Renewal 423 423
Greenburgh Housing Authority 115 303 418
Village of Walton 409 409
Ogdensburg Housing Authority 386 386
Newark Housing Authority 377 377
Village of New Hartford 374 374
Glen Cove CDA 340 340
Mechanicville Housing Authority 160 180 340
Port Chester Housing Authority 337 337
Port Jervis CDA 327 327
Tuckahoe Housing Authority 149 175 324
Village of Kiryas Joel HA 322 322
Town of Southampton 321 321
Olean Housing Authority 306 306
Norwich Housing Authority 102 203 305
Village of Rockville Centre 303 303
North Fork Hsg Alliance Inc 285 285
Village of North Syracuse Housing Authority 283 283
Geneva Housing Authority 247 30 277
Peekskill Housing Authority 273 273
Hudson Housing Authority 132 131 263
Village of Cobleskill 263 263
Town of Eastchester 255 255
Village of Ossining Section 8 Program 254 254
Harrietstown Housing Authority 113 135 248
Oneida Housing Authority 139 106 245
Town of Rotterdam 245 245
Rensselaer Housing Authority 146 98 244
Fort Plain Housing Agency 242 242
Massena Housing Authority 241 241
Hoosick Housing Authority 25 215 240
Village of Nyack HA 236 236
Dunkirk Housing Authority 233 233
Herkimer Housing Authority 175 52 227
North Hempstead Housing Authority 225 225
St. Johnsville Housing Authority 218 218
Glen Cove Public Housing Authority 209 209
Ellenville Housing Authority 64 144 208
Batavia Housing Authority 197 197
Riverhead Housing Development Corproration 196 196
Kenmore Municipal Housing Authority 194 194
Oneonta Housing Authority 112 80 192
Town of East Hampton 189 189
Mount Kisco Housing Authority 76 109 185
Town of Saugerties P H A 180 180
Malone Housing Authority 175 175
City of Salamanca 174 174
Village of Patchogue CDA 173 173
Canton Housing Authority 169 169
Village of Ballston Spa 159 159
Ilion Housing Authority 154 154
Town of Yorktown 152 152
Tarrytown Municipal Housing Authority 151 151
Little Falls Housing Authority 142 142
Canastota Housing Authority 135 135
Hornell Housing Authority 134 134
City of Johnstown 132 132
Town of Stillwater 129 129
Community Development Corp of Long Island 125 125
Town of Guilderland 110 110
Village of Scotia 106 106
Wilna Housing Authority 100 100
Village of Elmira Heights 94 94
Village of Kaser 92 92
Village of Corinth 91 91
Tupper Lake Housing Authority 90 90
Village of Greenport Housing Authority 87 87
North Tarrytown Housing Authority 86 86
Village of Highland Falls 84 84
Town of Coeymans 81 81
Catskill Housing Authority 80 80
Mercy Haven Inc. 75 75
Options for Community Living 75 75
Port Jervis Housing Authority 75 75
Village of Great Neck Housing Authority 75 75
Whitehall Housing Authority 73 73
Town of Glenville 60 60
Village of Canajoharie 60 60
Town of Bethlehem 59 59
Town of Clifton Park 59 59
Village of Waterford 55 55
Rockville Centre HA 50 50
West Carthage Housing Authority 50 50
Town of Niskayuna 46 46
Village of Green Island 46 46
Town of Waterford 45 45
Town of Schodack 43 43
Town of Jay 42 42
Village of Island Park HA 40 40
Woodridge Housing Authority 40 40
Town of Hadley 33 33
Town of Nassau 31 31
Town of Wilton 31 31
Boonville Housing Authority 30 30
Town of Corinth 28 28
Southern Tier Environments for Living 25 25
Dolgeville Housing Authority 20 20
Inc. Village of Sea Cliff 20 20
Town of Knox 20 20
Village of Farmingdale HA 20 20
Town of Duanesburg 15 15

* The number in this column reflects the maximum number of Housing Choice Vouchers (formerly known as Section 8 vouchers, which a tenant in a private apartment uses to pay the difference between the asking rent and 30 percent of her monthly income) each housing authority is authorized to issue. However, according to HUD, PHAs rarely use all of those vouchers.