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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.
