NYCHA finishes $636 million PACT overhaul in East Brooklyn. Here's what it has told the Council about the program

The New York City Housing Authority has finished $636 million in renovations at Reid & Park Rock, a group of nearly 100 buildings across 15 public housing developments in East Brooklyn, Gothamist reported Monday. Nearly 3,000 residents now live in renovated apartments with new kitchens, bathrooms, floors and heating and ventilation systems.

The work was done under PACT, the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program. PACT moves developments from traditional public housing funding to the federal Section 8 program and brings in private partners to pay for repairs and manage the buildings. At Reid & Park Rock the partners are Fairstead, BRP Companies, Urbane and the Local Development Corporation of East New York, according to Gothamist.

NYCHA's chief real estate officer, Heather Beck, told Gothamist that residents "usually cry" when they see the finished apartments. The outlet also reported that more than 40% of residents had to move temporarily during construction, according to NYCHA's press secretary. A tenant leader described problems that have surfaced since, including lifting floors, chipping paint and false smoke alarms, and asked for more follow-up inspections. NYCHA said it oversees PACT properties through site visits and by working with partners when problems come up.

The stakes are citywide. NYCHA estimates it needs $80 billion in improvements, and more than 16,000 public housing apartments are now under construction, according to Gothamist.

What our records add

What NYCHA has told the Council about PACT's size. At the Public Housing Committee's April 29 hearing, Beck testified that more than 44,000 apartments across 169 developments were in pre-development, under construction or finished under PACT. She said that represents more than $16 billion in repairs, and that the pipeline would reach more than 142,000 NYCHA residents. Her slides included a renovated bathroom at Reid & Park Rock (video).

How far conversions have gone. At a June 2 Finance Committee hearing, a NYCHA official said 13,538 apartments were in PACT pre-development and 32,151 had converted, out of a 62,000-apartment goal, with another 25,000 planned to convert through the separate Public Housing Preservation Trust.

How NYCHA says it oversees private managers. At the Sept. 22 Public Housing hearing, Beck said that once a property converts, private managers handle day-to-day operations, but NYCHA keeps an oversight role. It administers the Section 8 subsidy, checks compliance with inspection and waitlist rules, and makes site visits to monitor partners.

Related items before the Council. Res. 24, from Alexa Avilés, calls on the state to provide its share of $3 billion a year for NYCHA's capital needs. Res. 23, also from Avilés, asks NYCHA to improve its public contracts database. Int. 926, from Chris Banks with nine sponsors, would require monthly reporting on unauthorized occupancies of NYCHA apartments. All three are in the Committee on Public Housing, which has six pending items, according to our records.

What's next

The Public Housing Committee meets Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m., jointly with the Aging Committee, on older adult centers in NYCHA buildings (meeting). Video and a searchable transcript will be posted on the meeting page afterward.