‘THE PERFEFT STROM’: Seniors in NYCHA Buildings with Poor Ventilation Slammed by COVID-19

NYCHA Bronx Senior Citizen BUILDING 

950 Union Avenue 

Bronx, NY 

In the 10 weeks between March and mid-May, 

• at least 15 of the 232 elders living there became infected with the virus. 
• (6) Six ultimately died of lab-confirmed COVID-19 in the single-building residence known as 950 Union Avenue 163rd Street, city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene data shows

With a major fan replacement project running behind and winter on the way, health experts warn of danger for more virus spread in public housing developments.

Last spring, as the coronavirus swept New York City, it hit hard at a nine-story seniors-only public housing development on Union Avenue in The Bronx.

Seniors in NYCHA Buildings with Poor Ventilation Slammed by COVID-19 - THE CITY

In the 10 weeks between March and mid-May, 

• at least 15 of the 232 elders living there became infected with the virus. 
• (6) Six ultimately died of lab-confirmed COVID-19 in the single-building residence known as 950 Union Avenue 163rd Street, city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene data shows.

• Testing showed an infection rate of 6.4%. 
• Overall, 2.9% of the city’s 8.1 million residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic’s arrival in March, though estimates of the percentage of New Yorkers infected are much higher.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE ROLE NYC COUNCIL PLAYED ON NYCHA ONGOING ISSUES. 

All told, some 47 NYCHA developments — 22 of which are seniors only — recorded COVID-positive rates higher than 2.9% from March to mid-May. NYCHA oversees 302 developments across the city.

All but two of the 47 developments — including the Union Avenue senior residence— rely on old mechanical ventilation systems that NYCHA had promised to fix by last year. 

And all but two of NYCHA’s 41 seniors-only developments use the system.

Across the city, 

• 240 NYCHA developments employ mechanical exhaust roof fans to circulate air out of apartments. 
• The systems, which serve 260,000 residents, are prone to breakdown, and the ducts leading from apartments to the roof often are clogged with decades of dust and debris.

Meanwhile, NYCHA has prioritized a list of buildings — including Union Avenue — for immediate roof fan replacement. But the plan is now off track and far behind schedule.

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Meanwhile, NYCHA faces an astounding $38 billion repair bill for public housing — and City Hall’s own math shows it has come up with only $24 billion so far.

Take for example the Action Plan I approved on Nov. 6, 2019, for NYCHA to spend $450 million in state reimbursement funds for the replacement of 148 elevators and 108 boilers at 35 NYCHA developments. 

There is little sense in replacing a building’s elevators before making sure the building’s roof, facade and interior pipes are in good shape and not leaking water. 

That can only be done with timely and proper building inspections.

Prolonged leaks cause mold, and in nearly 300 cases between 2014 and 2016, verified mold growth covered more than 100 square feet at NYCHA. 

Even after it was removed from individual apartments, the mold returned at least 30% of the time.

 Innovation can help NYCHA address leaks and prevent mold.

THE UNSPOKEN PROBLEM ABOUT THE NYCHA REPORT FROM THE FEDERAL MONITOR 

By Pete Harrison (@PeteHarrisonNYC)   

On Monday, Bart Schwartz, the federal monitor appointed in February to oversee the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) lead remediation efforts published his first quarterly report. It was, predictably, rough going. 

The Unspoken Problem about the NYCHA Report from the Federal Monitor 

NYCHA is failing residents on many fronts. Most urgently, and the basis of the federal lawsuit, hundreds of children remain exposed to lead paint, including 18 reports of children with elevated blood levels from this year alone. 

Residents and workers across the portfolio of 176,000 homes are also exposed to dangerous levels of mold, pet infestation, waste management overflow, lack of heat and hot water, and structural building failures. 

The report outlines a depressing lack of organization within the authority. Poor internal communication, resident-focused communication, data collection, record keeping, project oversight, and poor communication with the monitor itself. 

This does the full story of NYCHA a terrible disservice. The reasons for NYCHA’s systemic failures are more complicated than media coverage allows. Not acknowledging them in full detail makes it impossible to think seriously about how to save NYCHA going forward. 

The complicated history and structure of NYCHA doesn’t help it, either. It is owned by the city, but gets about one-third of its budget funding from HUD (including Section 8 funding), and additional funding from the state. But HUD has cut more than a billion dollars to NYCHA since 2001. The state has slimmed its commitments too and didn’t add any money in this budget season. (The fact that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was once HUD Secretary shouldn’t be lost on anyone.)

The federal and state cuts (plus cuts during the Bloomberg Administration) over so many years have compounded and resulted in a $32 billion capital budget shortfall. It’s remarkable that NYCHA is still standing at all.

The monitorship was a half measure that doesn’t change any of this. New York City didn’t want to lose control over NYCHA, partly because it would be deeply embarrassing for the de Blasio administration, but mostly because other HUD takeovers of public housing authorities have been disastrous, even without considering the ghoulishness of the current administration. 

The monitorship agreement maintains city control, but requires it to spend $2.2 billion over the next decade on reforms and repairs. However, it doesn’t require any new money from the state or the federal government, which calls into question how serious this monitorship is about actually solving the issues in NYCHA.

Some, including HUD regional head Lynne Patton, have argued that there is plenty of money that just needs to be managed better. Although it is true that there is some money around and that NYCHA has mismanaged much of it, it is patently false to say that it comes close to $32 billion.