NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Convenes NYCHA Resident Committee and Releases Resident Survey Results in Next Phase of Resident-Powered Audit Process

 

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander convened a committee of 21 NYCHA Residents who will help steer the Comptroller’s “resident-powered audit” process in 2023. The inaugural resident committee held their first meeting on Tuesday, December 6th in the Comptroller’s office at 1 Centre Street following a summer of roundtable meetings and visits to developments in each borough.

The Comptroller’s office is required to audit all city agencies and entities that receive City funds once every four years. The public housing authority has been on the agency’s “watch list,” facing more frequent scrutiny, for several years due to its perennial financial and managerial struggles. In July, the Comptroller’s office launched a NYCHA residents survey in an effort to ensure that the office’s oversight of NYCHA is guided by residents.

“NYCHA residents are the experts on what is broken in our public housing authority, and they must be part of the solutions. By partnering directly with residents, our resident-powered audits will aim to move the needle forward on the much-needed repairs, resources, services, investments, and quality of life issues that matter most to the people who call NYCHA home,” Comptroller Brad Lander said at the time.

Sanitation, safety, and repair tickets being closed before repairs were completed ranked highest amongst the nearly 800 respondents from across 132 developments and received in five different languages. The committee, made up of residents of NYCHA buildings across the five boroughs, kicked-off their meeting with a review of the resident survey and discussed ways to follow up on the results with future audit and oversight ideas.

The resident survey has already resulted in one quick response field review of building entry doors at NYCHA developments. The Comptroller’s office found that nearly 60% of residential building entrance doors were open and/or had broken locks. That number was up dramatically from 23.5% in a similar field review conducted in 2018.

“As we’ve listened to hundreds of NYCHA residents at Family Days, structured roundtables, and informal discussions this summer, it’s been agonizing to hear the level of frustration, distrust, and appalling conditions they endure,” said Comptroller Lander. “The challenges NYCHA faces are large, and both the costs of repair and the need for management reform can seem overwhelming. But by making sure we include residents in the conversation, we can bring transparency to the process and take meaningful, achievable steps to restoring basic services, safety, and trust.”

To view past audits of NYCHA, please visit the Comptroller’s website here. NYCHA financial spending data, contract information, and vendors can be tracked on Checkbook NYC. 

For more on audits released during Comptroller Lander’s tenure, please visit the new audit recommendations tracker here. New Yorkers can suggest specific audits of any city agency here.