Stringer Calls For Major Overhaul Of NYC's Housing Authority
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said it's time to overhaul the city's housing authority.
In a new report, Stringer said the New York City Housing Authority's current Board of Commissioners structure is hampering its ability to confront major organizational challenges.
"Right now, these board members serve for fixed terms and are accountable to nobody," Stringer told 1010 WINS.
NYCHA is the country's largest housing authority, home to more than 650,000 people or one of every 13 New York City residents. Part of his overhaul plan would mean a revamped NYCHA board.
"I'm proposing a seven-member board, two of whom would be tenants and would serve for fixed two-year terms. The rest of the board outside of the tenants would serve at the pleasure of the mayor so that the mayor would have more control over how to run this authority," Stringer said.
NYCHA's board is currently made up of four members.
Stringer told WCBS 880 there's far too much waste in the organization's current structure.
"It's a problem when $42 million worth of cameras and security sits untouched for years and it's a problem when it takes years to make simple repairs," Stringer said. "We've gotta change the way this agency operates. The system is broken and we need the state legislature to bring NYCHA's governance into line with other authorities like the MTA and the Port Authority."
Stringer blamed outdated and ineffective management as the main culprits. He said his reform plan would address those issues.
"It's about 650,000 New Yorkers who want nothing more than to go to work, raise families, and come home to safe, clean neighborhoods. But let's face it, there are problems," Stringer said.
Some parts of Stringer's overhaul plan would require action from the New York State Legislature.
