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A Notice of Vote was sent to residents at Hylan Houses this month, making the complex the fifth public housing development asked to vote on the future of their homes. The 30-day voting period is expected to begin on Nov. 13.
John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
City Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso at a press conference in 2022, calling for repairs at NYCHA’s Hylan and neighboring Bushwick Houses.As the voting period at NYCHA’s Coney Island and Unity Towers Houses comes to an end this week, a new one is on the horizon this fall for a housing development in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The Hylan Houses, a single building that houses 410 residents, is next up to decide on how best to invest in their complex, according to NYCHA.
On Aug. 2, the housing authority announced that a Notice of Vote was sent to tenants, officially kicking off the “100 days of engagement.” In this period, NYCHA holds meetings and informational events for the community to learn more about the three options on the table.
Audrey Fraser, the tenant association president at Hylan, told City Limits that she’s been fielding calls from her neighbors about the upcoming vote. She knows just about everyone in her building: tenants leave their keys with Fraser while on vacation, and the youngest neighbors refer to her as “grandma.”
“The people are calling me and talking to me and asking me,” said Fraser.
NYCHA’s Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt said that “robust” tenant engagement is an essential part of rehabilitating public housing properties across the city.
“I’m thrilled that the residents of Hylan Houses will be the next NYCHA community to have the opportunity to cast their votes, building on the momentum of the other votes that have been held thus far,” said Bova-Hiatt.
The Bushwick complex is the fifth to vote on one of three funding models. Residents are expected to pay no more than 30 percent of their income on rent under all options.
One choice is the Public Housing Preservation Trust, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in June of 2022. More commonly known as “the Trust,” properties would remain under the management of NYCHA but would be converted out of the federally funded Section 9 model and into a more lucrative Project-Based Section 8 funding stream. The Trust would then be able to issue bonds to pay for third-party vendors to do repairs.
So far, two developments, Nostrand Houses in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and a senior housing development, Bronx River Addition in Soundview, have opted into the Trust program. Both are expected to finish the conversion process in 2026.
An initial 25,000 apartments are expected to convert to the Trust.
Another option is the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program, introduced to New York City in 2016. It’s the city’s version of a larger, nationwide program called the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), introduced in 2011 under the Obama administration as an effort to preserve public housing.
Similar to the Trust, PACT converts properties from federally funded Section 9 to Project-Based Section 8, and in addition to using bonds to fund repairs, the program allows an outside management company to take over through a 99-year ground lease.
Daily operations, such as submitting a ticket for repairs or paying rent, would be handled by the new management. A private developer is also hired to work on repairs, typically including new windows, kitchens and bathrooms inside the unit and communal spaces such as playgrounds.
To date, 138 developments are either in the planning and engagement stage, are under construction or have already been completed under PACT. NYCHA’s goal is to convert 62,000 units to the program by 2028.
The final option is to remain as a Section 9 property, without any conversions.
In a presentation for Hylan Houses residents, NYCHA assures that the housing authority will continue doing repairs under Section 9, but notes that larger scale fixes throughout the building will be “heavily constrained by funding.”
NYCHA receives approximately $700 million annually from Congress toward repairs—only a portion of what the housing authority says it needs. Last year, NYCHA shared that it has an estimated $78.3 billion worth of capital improvement requirements over the next 20 years for developments across the five boroughs.
On its own, the Hylan Houses has a 20-year capital need of $90 million. Among the more pressing needs of the 64-year-old building are renovated kitchens, bathrooms, floors, paint jobs and ceilings, according to NYCHA’s Physical Needs Assessment.
In 2022, local Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez and other officials held a press conference to call attention to needed repairs at Hylan and its neighboring Bushwick Houses, calling conditions at the two developments “undignified.”
Fraser, the tenant association president who’s lived at Hylan for more than 40 years, said it seems as though the building is “breaking down” and NYCHA keeps trying to patch it back up.
“Say 13A has a hole, they’ll patch that hole,” said Fraser. “But the water will trickle down all the way from 13 to 1.”
Three meetings are scheduled in the coming weeks to offer information on the voting process:
- Aug. 29 at noon in the Tenant Association room of 131 Moore St.
- Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. online
- Sept. 24 at 50 Humboldt St.
The voting period is expected to begin on Nov. 13 and run until Dec. 12.
