Nearly 2,400 New York City Housing Authority apartments will receive a total of $400 million in renovations, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday.
Even with upgrades like new kitchens, these homes will not see a rise in their rent, the city assured.
The upgrades will affect 5,300 residents living in homes across 21 public housing developments in Manhattan and Brooklyn. These tenants will “retain all their rights as public housing residents,” the city said, including that they will continue to be charged their current rent and will remain in their buildings during the renovation process.
“All New Yorkers deserve to live in safe and decent housing, which is why we’ve been investing in NYCHA since the first day of my Administration to reverse the decades of neglect,” de Blasio said in a statement. “The city is leveraging every tool available to deliver critically needed repairs without raising the rent. We will never stop fighting to improve the quality of life for NYCHA residents.”
The renovations, which will total about $400 million across all 2,400 homes, will include upgrades like new kitchens and bathrooms; replacing windows, elevators, boilers and roofs and improved common areas, the city said.
The upgrades are made possible through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which allows public housing authorities to preserve developments as affordable homes and make necessary repairs.
“Residents are long overdue for funding and attention to some of the most critical needs causing the most serious of problems in their homes,” said Chair of the Council Committee on Public Housing Alicka Ampry Samuel in a statement. “RAD, which was implemented by President Obama in 2011, thoroughly addresses those needs through renovations and residents will now have homes they can be proud of.”
NYCHA will begin choosing development teams for the construction and management work this fall, and renovations will begin at the first buildings in 2019.
