Comptroller to Examine How NYCHA Spends City Capital Funds

The probe is the third done at the request of citizens housing tenants who serve on the comptroller s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee in response to complaints of a lack of transparency about how funds are being doled out An out-of-service elevator at NYCHA s Mitchel Houses in Photo by Adi Talwar The NYC Comptroller s Office will investigate how city funding for NYCHA is being doled out on capital projects at the request of tenants who complained about a lack of transparency in how such funding is allocated personnel communicated Thursday The probe is the third selected by population housing tenants who serve on the comptroller s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee and will examine the billion in city money included the housing authority s capital plan for fiscal years - which funds infrastructure upgrades and major repairs The audit will focus on what projects get earmarked for city funds how NYCHA determined those allocations and what has been spent so far Comptroller Brad Lander disclosed in a press release With delayed repairs and services comes increased scrutiny of how NYCHA is allocating and spending their money Fortunately NYCHA put forth a very detailed four-year Capital Plan that my office can dig into and assess if NYCHA is delivering for their tenants Lander who is at this time running for mayor mentioned in a message function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'zwcugqstyjmfwec wgkn' The housing authority says it necessities more than billion to address outstanding repair requirements across its developments over the next two decades Rev Carmen Hernandez a longtime tenant at NYCHA s - Watson Ave who heads the resident council there and serves on the comptroller s audit committee stated they want more clarity around how city funds are spent We want to have transparency Hernandez explained Each enhancement should know where the money that s coming to their rise is and what s to be fixed She described filing work order tickets for repairs that get closed without fixes at her improvement which she explained has deteriorating brick work as well as mold and leaks Administrators are as of now negotiating the city s budget for the next fiscal year that starts July including materials for NYCHA which is facing the possibility of dramatic federal funding cuts from the Trump administration At a City Council budget hearing last week Shaan Mavani NYCHA s chief asset and capital management officer announced the housing authority weighs a number of factors when deciding how to allocate funds including whether the money might be earmarked for specific purposes or programs NYCHA is also under a federal monitorship that requires improvements in specific areas like heating elevators mold leaks and lead abatement As we allocate funding we look at a number of different information sources Mavani stated The conditions of each site the physical conditions but also how much repairs we re doing how a large number of work tickets residents are putting in the type of repairs The comptroller s office declared the findings of the upcoming audit should be complete by mid-to-late Earlier investigations selected by the Comptroller s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee looked into the housing authority s repair processes as well as how evictions are being carried out To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint procedures here The post Comptroller to Examine How NYCHA Spends City Capital Funds appeared first on City Limits