MAYOR ADAMS RELEASES NOVEMBER 2024 FINANCIAL PLAN UPDATE WITH NEW INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC SAFETY, AFFORDABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH ADMINISTRATION’S ONGOING STRONG FISCAL MANAGEMENT

 

Technical Plan Updates Revenue and Savings Since Budget Adoption, Makes Strategic Investments to Address Budget Cliffs Funded with Temporary Stimulus, Meet Underfunded Needs, and Support Priority Programs and Services 

New Investments Include Addition of 1,600 Police Officers, Funding for Cash Assistance Program, Support for New York City Public Schools, and Purchase of Thousands of New Sanitation Bins to Continue “Trash Revolution,” Among Other Initiatives 

Administration's Proactive Fiscal Management Has Driven Savings of $785 Million in Fiscal Year 2025 and $85 million in Fiscal Year 2026, With Asylum Seeker Cost Savings Reaching Nearly $500 Million Over Two Fiscal Years 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the release of the November 2024 Financial Plan Update with investments that continue to make New York City safer, more affordable, and more livable for working-class New Yorkers. The update marks the beginning of a new budget cycle in which New York City continues to practice the strong fiscal management that helped successfully navigate the city through the fiscal impact of funding a humanitarian crisis and having to close budget holes left by expiring short-term stimulus dollars that were used to support long-term critical programs under the previous administration. The plan update reflects the Adams administration’s ongoing commitment to strong fiscal management by achieving citywide savings and making targeted investments that will support working-class New Yorkers, meet underfunded needs, and invest in critical programs.

“From day one, our administration has put working-class New Yorkers first and have been working to make this city safer, more affordable, and more livable,” said Mayor Adams. “We have remained focused on strong fiscal management and achieving savings to make the best use of taxpayer dollars and balance the budget. Because of our smart and tough decisions early on, we are able to continue investing in working-class New Yorkers and their families, and today’s November plan update does just that. This plan reflects savings of almost $900 million over two fiscal years and over $200 million in additional tax revenue, signaling a strong New York City economy. We are proud to add an additional 1,600 police officers, which will increase our uniform force to nearly 34,000 officers to keep our communities safe. We are also helping working-class New Yorkers pay for necessities like housing, groceries, and bills by putting over $467 million in the cash assistance program and $115 million into our CityFHEPS rental assistance program to help families stay in their homes. We are funding school contract nurses, supporting core technology projects in public schools, and fully containerizing all Department of Parks and Recreation curbside trash locations with 9,000 lockable steel bins to continue our ‘Trash Revolution’ across the five boroughs, amongst other investments. Together, we will continue to build a city for working-class people that is safer, more prosperous, and more livable.”

“Today’s November plan update balances our steadfast commitment to strong fiscal management with our recognition of where targeted investments in public safety, affordability, and quality of life are particularly necessary and timely,” said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. “The citywide savings we are recognizing, as well as the incremental tax revenue we expect to see, allow us to make meaningful investments that further our administration’s agenda to support working people.”

Ongoing Strong Fiscal Management

The FY25 budget is now $115 billion, with gaps of $5.46 billion in FY 2026, $5.57 billion in FY 2027, and $6.34 billion in FY 2028, which are all slightly lower than at FY25 budget adoption due to reduced pension costs. Growth since budget adoption is primarily due to recognition of grant funds.

The plan update reflects $201 million in additional tax revenue in FY25, largely reflecting increased collections since the budget was adopted in July, signaling a strong New York City economy.

The administration has remained focused on achieving savings to make the best use of taxpayer dollars and balance the budget. This plan reflects citywide savings of $785 million in FY25 and $85 million in FY26, driven by asylum seeker cost savings of $436 million in FY25 and $59 million in FY26, primarily due to lower-than-expected number of asylum seekers entering the city's care since July 2024. This is in addition to savings the city has achieved over previous plans due to the administration’s efforts to help migrants take the next steps toward self-sufficiency and reducing household per-diem cost. The savings achieved in this Plan Update substantially offset agency expense changes over FY25 and FY26 that prioritize public safety, meet unfilled needs, and fund budget cliffs for critical programs.

FY25 Investment Highlights

Keeping Communities Safe

• Funding January and April 2025 NYPD Academy classes that will put 1,600 new officers on the streets by October 2025 and increase uniform force strength to nearly 34,000 officers ($140 million).
• Funding for staffing, equipment, and other needs to support operations at the Bellevue Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit, a secure, clinical unit within a hospital that serves patients in custody who have serious health conditions and follows the jail-based therapeutic housing model, that is scheduled to open in early 2025 ($6.7 million).
• Expanding the New York City Sheriff’s “electronic ankle monitoring program” with funding for 51 new positions to help increase safety, while at the same time allowing carefully selected, screened, and monitored pre-trial detainees to return to their communities and jobs ($5.3 million).
• Reducing recidivism by justice-involved individuals, helping reintegration into the community, and improving jail safety by deepening support for New York City Department of Correction programming, including transition planning for people in custody, substance misuse education and support, supplemental education sessions, and therapeutic services ($4.7 million).
• Increasing staffing for the “Operation Padlock to Protect” cannabis enforcement program with funds directed to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and the New York City Sheriff’s Office to help with administrative support due to increased task force inspections and closure of illegal cannabis shops ($1 million).

Making New York City More Affordable

• Adding funding to the cash assistance program to close a fiscal cliff and meet growing caseload needs in order to provide stability to a program that helps nearly 570,000 eligible children and adults meet their basic daily needs, such as paying for housing, utilities, and food ($467.6 million).
• Filling a budget hole in the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention (CityFHEPS) rental assistance program that had been supported with short-term stimulus dollars in order to help prevent homelessness and keep vulnerable New Yorkers in their homes ($114.9 million).

• Closing the funding gap for the “Groceries to Go” program that helps eligible food insecure New Yorkers purchase groceries for delivery or pickup ($7.3 million).

Filling Gaps in the New York City Public School Budget Left by Expiring Stimulus Funds in an Effort to Protect Critical Programs

• Supporting critical New York City Public Schools technology resources to fund core needs that had previously been funded with temporary stimulus dollars ($80 million).
• Funding for school contract nurses that had been supported with temporary stimulus dollars ($65 million).

Improving Quality of Life by Keeping New York City Clean and Green

• Funding to continue Mayor Adams’ “Trash Revolution” with the purchase of approximately 5,000 tilt trucks for about 1,400 school buildings that allow for easy loading, transportation, and unloading of waste to help comply with containerization regulations ($4 million).
• Purchasing over 9,000 lockable steel bins to fully containerize all New York City Department of Parks and Recreation curbside trash locations ($1.85 million).

The plan update reflects updates to the FY25 Adopted Budget, which the administration balanced in the face of a record level $7.1 billion budget gap through strong fiscal management and remaining focused on savings and reducing asylum seeker spending needs. By managing its way to a stable fiscal position, the Adams administration was able to make record investments in early childhood education, public safety, and programs that maintain the health and quality-of-life of New Yorkers. These investments included holding school budgets harmless from mid-year funding adjustments, safeguarding more than $600 million in educational programs previously funded with short-term stimulus, funding police academy classes that put more officers on city streets to keep New Yorkers safe, and protecting libraries and cultural institutions.

  

MAYOR ADAMS APPOINTS JESSICA TISCH AS NYPD COMMISSIONER

 

Tisch Will Be Only Second Female to Serve as NYPD Commissioner, Both Appointed Under Mayor Adams’ Leadership

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), effective Monday, November 25. Tisch will be the second female to serve as commissioner of the NYPD in its 179-year history; the first, Commissioner Keechant Sewell, was also appointed by Mayor Adams.  

  

Tisch — a 12-year veteran of the NYPD and the current commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) — will take the helm of the nation’s largest police department as overall crime continues to drop across the five boroughs for the 10th straight month, as of October 2024. As DSNY commissioner, Tisch has led the successful execution of the Adams administration’s “Trash Revolution,” which has containerized 70 percent of the 44 million pounds of trash that New Yorkers set out on the curbs each day.  

  

“The people of this city have been clear that they agree with what our administration has been fighting for since day one in office: a safer city where they don’t need to worry about walking down the street or taking the subway at night. To ensure New Yorkers have the ability to thrive in our city, we need a strong, battle-tested leader who will continue to drive down crime and ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe, and I cannot think of a leader more up to the task than Commissioner Jessica Tisch. As one of the most successful managers in our administration, I am confident that Commissioner Tisch will effectively lead the greatest police department in the world and continue to deliver the safety and peace of mind New Yorkers deserve,” said Mayor Adams. “I also want to thank Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon for serving our city over the last two months, after a lifetime of serving our state and this country. We appreciate his willingness to quickly come on board and dedicate day and night to this city. I look forward to having him serve in his new role.”  

  

“For 12 years, I cherished the special privilege of serving alongside the brave women and men of the New York City Police Department. I’ve seen firsthand the profound nobility of the policing profession, and I was proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with both uniform members and civilians to propel the NYPD into the next century of technological advancement,” said Incoming NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “I thank Mayor Adams for the tremendous honor to now lead the NYPD, and I understand the solemnity of this great responsibility. It is now my distinct honor to advance Mayor Adams’ vision of fighting crime and disorder; keeping our great city safe and vibrant; protecting all New Yorkers, including our officers who put their lives on the line every day, so they can live free of fear; continuing to build the most nimble municipal counterterrorism apparatus in the world; and implementing the most forward-thinking law enforcement training and technology. We will do all of this with integrity as we continue to build public confidence and trust in the police.” 

  

About Jessica Tisch 

  

Jessica Tisch is a 17-year veteran of city government who has dedicated her professional life to serving the people of New York. Tisch was appointed DSNY commissioner in April 2022, managing the city’s waste collection, recycling, and disposal, as well as cleaning and snow removal for approximately 6,500 miles of city streets. Under her leadership, New York City has seen generational change in sanitation service, including the launch of the “Trash Revolution,” which, to date, has placed 70 percent of trash in New York City under container mandate, as well as the rollout of weekly universal curbside composting service to all 3.5 million residences in New York City.  

  

Previously, Tisch served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and citywide chief information officer from December 2019 to January 2022. As commissioner, she ran the largest municipal IT organization in the country, with a wide portfolio ranging from public safety to human services to economic development as well as New York City 311. She also rolled out the city’s first text-to-911 capability. While at DoITT, Tisch additionally served as a core member of the team that managed the city’s COVID-19 pandemic response — building and managing critical programs that tangibly served New Yorkers, including the city’s vaccination system.  

  

Prior to joining DoITT, Tisch spent the majority of her career at the New York City Police Department, where she served as deputy commissioner of information technology and oversaw the NYPD’s 911 operations. She spearheaded efforts to use technology to transform the NYPD's fundamental business processes, including how officers are dispatched and respond to 911 calls, take crime reports, investigate, and search for wanted or missing persons. 

  

She also managed the development and implementation of the flagship Domain Awareness System, which is at the heart of the NYPD’s crime fighting and counterterrorism operations. Under her leadership, every officer was equipped with a smartphone, giving them access to real-time information in the field, as well as improving their accessibility to the public. Tisch also managed the implementation of the NYPD’s body-worn camera program and drove additional efforts to improve transparency and public access to the NYPD, modernizing CompStat by prioritizing democratization of data to precincts. She began her public service career in 2008, when she joined the NYPD as a counterterrorism analyst.  

  

Tisch is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School and is a lifelong New Yorker.   

Two Honduran Men Convicted for their Role in International Human Smuggling Conspiracy

Two Honduran men were convicted on Monday by a federal jury for their roles in a scheme to illegally smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 30, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 37, conspired with at least six others to bring Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States. In February 2022, the defendants attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran migrants from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65-foot Sportfishing vessel. Most of the migrants each paid several thousand dollars to the co-conspirators to be smuggled into the United States. At some point during the voyage, the M/V Pop developed engine trouble and lost power in the Gulf of Mexico. The co-conspirators chartered a boat to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey into the United States. Before the chartered boat reached the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the vessel approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore.

For almost a year, Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez participated in the scheme to bring Honduran migrants from Honduras to the United States via two vessels: the Masita III and the M/V Pop. Once the migrants reached the United States, the co-conspirators placed some of them in factories and other businesses, knowing that the migrants lacked authorization to enter, remain, or work in the United States.

Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez were convicted of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain and two counts of attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A sentencing date has not been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The lead defendant in the case, Carl Allison, 47, previously pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Three additional co-conspirators, all Honduran nationals, pleaded guilty earlier last year for their roles in the scheme. Darrel Martinez, 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Allison. Lenord Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and assist aliens to enter the United States unlawfully and attempting to bring aliens to the U.S. for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.

The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training in Honduras provided substantial assistance.

Deputy Chief Rami Badawy and Trial Attorney Kate Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice of the General Crimes Unit for the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.

This case is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The initiative was expanded to Colombia and Panama to combat human smuggling in the Darién in June 2024. JTFA comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border including the Southern District of California, Districts of Arizona and New Mexico and the Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 325 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; more than 272 U.S. convictions; more than 210 significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband including more than a million dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; along with multiple indictments and precedent setting extraditions of foreign leadership targets.

This case is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI, and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities. 

NYC Comptroller Lander Finds Rampant Failures in Repair Vendor Oversight at NYCHA, Calls for New Vendor Scorecard Based on Real-Time Resident Feedback

 

Nearly half of sampled purchase orders lacked evidence that the work was performed. For apartment repairs under $50,000, NYCHA does not formally evaluate vendors, and 93% of the time residents were not asked to rate the vendor.

Comptroller proposes real-time resident feedback tool – on the model of Yelp reviews – to generate vendor scorecards and hold contractors accountable.

In a new audit, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is sorely lacking mechanisms for oversight and monitoring of contractors who perform repairs in its buildings. In 2022 and 2023, NYCHA spent $135.6 million on apartment repairs costing less than $50,000, yet it does not evaluate the work of these vendors, and auditors found inadequate controls over payments. Nearly half of sampled purchase orders lacked evidence that the contracted work was performed. 

NYCHA currently lacks a mechanism for residents to provide feedback on vendor performance, as has become standard in other customer service fields. In response to surveys conducted by the Comptroller’s Office, 93% of residents who were asked about vendor performance stated that they were never asked by NYCHA to rate their satisfaction with work performed in their apartment. Furthermore, NYCHA’s vetting processes for these contracts do not require agency officials to formally consider a vendor’s prior performance with NYCHA before a new contract is awarded. 

In a report accompanying the audit, Repairs, Reviews, and Resident Voice, Comptroller Lander proposes a new resident feedback tool on repairs in their units, on the model of Yelp reviews, that would generate vendor scorecards to hold contractors accountable. Public housing authorities, non-profit, and for-profit property owners around the globe are increasingly embracing resident engagement and innovative technology tools to more effectively manage their properties. 

“NYCHA spends hundreds of millions of dollars on repair vendors every year, but is failing to make sure those contractors actually do the work we’re paying them for,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. “So here’s a simple recommendation: let residents rate the vendors who perform work in their unit – like Yelp or countless other apps – and use tenant feedback to generate vendor scorecards to hold contractor accountable.” 

The audit and policy report were recommended by the Comptroller’s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee, which was established in 2022. As part of the process, the Comptroller’s staff engaged NYCHA residents in all five boroughs, including a survey conducted to garner resident feedback and input in the audit process. Direct resident engagement included a series of roundtables and listening sessions, surveys of more than 1,000 residents across 44 developments, and the establishment of the first-ever resident audit committee convened by Comptroller Lander which has steered the Comptroller’s resident-powered audit process and selected this audit topic. The committee was created with the goal of incorporating resident voices and experiences into the oversight and accountability process to deliver change at NYCHA. 

In light of tenants’ own poor experiences with repairs, as well as corruption charges by the U.S. Attorney in which 70 NYCHA officials pled guilty to accepting cash payments in exchange for contract approvals, especially on small and micro purchases, the Comptroller’s office launched the audit in 2023. Findings of the audit include: 

• Nearly half of sampled purchase orders lacked evidence that work was performed
  Forty-six percent of the value of all purchase orders reviewed by the auditors ($301,678 out of the $648,786 examined) were found to be lacking evidence of work performed, or conversely, were determined not to have been performed based on affirmative evidence (i.e., observations by audit staff and statements from residents) that work had not been performed.

• Inadequate monitoring of smaller purchases which risks fraud, waste, and abuse
  NYCHA paid vendors a total of $135.6 million in smaller purchases (those less than $50,000 and including routine repairs and maintenance such as painting and apartment tiling) during calendar years 2022 and 2023. However, NYCHA implements far fewer controls and much less oversight on these contracts, risking this work going unchecked and unsupervised and needing to be redone.

• Controls that are in place to prevent inappropriate micro purchases are easily circumvented
  Gaps in the control process include purchases appearing to have been artificially divided to keep projects below the $10,000 bidding threshold. Numerous vendors were also assigned more than one unique vendor identification numbers, risking NYCHA’s ability to ensure these are not larger expenditures under the guise of micro purchases, which have far less contractual oversight. 

• Records related to work requests and completion are disorganized and often incomplete
  At all 10 of the developments that Comptroller’s Office auditors visited, staff needed several hours to find requested paperwork and at most, documents were stored haphazardly. Shockingly, at one development, documents were covered in mold resulting from water damage. 

• NYCHA does not evaluate the work performed by micro and small purchase vendors
  NYCHA staff told Comptroller’s Office auditors that the “expectation is that developments where work was done unsatisfactorily will not use the same vendors in the future and that this mitigates repeat unsatisfactory repair and maintenance work,” but there is no formal rating system or repository for this information to be recorded which can lead to sub-standard work at one development being replicated at another. 

• Low resident satisfaction on small and micro purchase work
  Comptroller’s Office survey findings highlight high levels of resident dissatisfaction with the quality of smaller purchases, but most residents are never asked by NYCHA to provide feedback upon contractor completion of work. Thirty percent who rated the work performed by contractors gave a rating of “poor” and less than half (46%) rated the work performed as “good” or “better.” 

• More oversight needed on large-scale vendors
  While residents were generally more satisfied with large-scale work and many controls are in place, the Comptroller’s audit highlighted important concerns including the need for strengthening vetting and vendor evaluations that lack standardization. Record keeping and documentation was another issue for large-scale vendor contracts. Unfortunately, NYCHA leaves it to the discretion of individual departments to determine the level of evidence that should be retained and has no standardized requirement. Respondents to the Comptroller’s survey raised concerns with large-scale work and many indicated that while NYCHA does communicate with them regarding planned capital works, they were not satisfied with NYCHA’s overall responsiveness to related issues. 

Auditors acknowledge that NYCHA has taken some important steps to implement recommendations for improvements in vendor oversight issued by the Department of Investigation in February 2024. However, residents are still almost entirely missing from the process.  

NYCHA has no means to formally collect resident feedback on work performed by contractors. Officials stated that feedback may be noted on the hardcopy work order that residents are asked to sign, but this information is not recorded in a manner that would facilitate formal tracking of resident satisfaction with repairs or vendors. In its response to the audit, NYCHA claimed that tenants could give feedback in the general comments fields of the MyNYCHA app, or in an annual general survey. However, these options are not tied to specific repair vendors, comments are not solicited when work is done, and feedback provided in this way has no bearing on vendor evaluations or whether those vendors are given additional work. 

As detailed in Repairs, Reviews, and Resident Voice, technology can play a critical role in enhancing government operations and is increasingly used by governments – including in housing operations – to reach and empower broader populations, strengthen community engagement practices, and deliver services more effectively. Many multifamily affordable housing providers are integrating resident feedback into their management practices in innovative ways that leverage the power of digital technology. 

The report recommends that NYCHA provide residents with an opportunity to rate their vendors through an easy-to-use, accessible, and multi-lingual Yelp-like contractor evaluation tool at the completion of every work order and before the vendor gets paid. This feedback should be integrated into a public, accessible, real-time Vendor Scorecard that would be utilized in decisions about which vendors get future work.  

By allowing NYCHA residents to rate their vendors, integrating their feedback into vendor scorecards, and utilizing the results to determine which contractors receive future contracts, NYCHA could ensure that repairs actually get done, rebuild resident trust, make far better use of taxpayer dollars, and improve living conditions for the half-million residents who call NYCHA home. 

“As a member of the NYCHA Resident Audit Committee, I see the difference that resident involvement makes in holding NYCHA accountable,” said Taft Houses Resident Association President Beverly MacFarlane. “For years I’ve been ringing the alarm on issues in my development and across NYCHA’s operations, including the lack of accountability over vendors. It’s no secret that NYCHA has left apartments crumbling, but now is the time to make sure the agency steps up and make sure all contractors actually do the work they’re hired to do.” 

“I’ve asked NYCHA over and over to listen to the voices of residents when we flag issues with vendors and through our resident audit committee and the Comptroller’s Office they are finally being held accountable,” said Alfred E. Smith Houses Resident Association President Aixa Torres. “Residents have been dealing with broken elevators, mold, lack of heat, and shoddy repair work for far too long. We know our homes best. We’ve been expressing our frustration but it’s not leading to any change. Allowing residents to give direct feedback to NYCHA through a Vendor Scorecard would make a big difference in making sure we don’t see the same problems surface over and over again.” 

“NYCHA apartments are falling apart and all we’re seeing are bandage solutions,” said Coney Island Houses Resident and Community Voices Heard Member Ann Valdez. “I’ve seen repairs in my development take 17 years with no real oversight and accountability. The NYCHA Resident Audit Committee voted on this audit because we’re seeing the same pattern of broken promises across the city. We want to make sure NYCHA keeps listening and implement a simple solution to make sure residents can give their feedback on the issues that impact us most.” 

This Week at KRVC - Holiday Events, Toy Drive and More!

 

COMING UP AT KRVC

Around the Community... KRVC Welcomes Back BAMBA With NYC Small Business Services!   Here at KRVC, we really do love our acronyms. We are pleased to announce that BAMBA is back up and running. This grant runs through June 2025 and will bring so much excitement and resources to Kingsbridge merchants. We are full steam ahead on our toy drive! Purchase a toy from the wish list here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/RHQ7MQG96P4J?ref_=list_d_wl_ys_list_1 KRVC and Danny Monge Celebrate Community Heroes. Congratulations to the 33 heroes that were recognized!  Lourdes De Leon Opening At Gallery 505  KRVC Welcomes Lourdes. Check out her beautiful work. We are pleased to say that three pieces have sold!