NYCHA Braces for Impending Budget Cuts

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is preparing for the impact of the reported $35 million reduction of federal aid the housing authority receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To get a clearer picture of these budget cuts and their impact on the housing authority, Affordable Housing Online spoke with a NYCHA representative on Wednesday. According to NYCHA, the budget cuts are being applied to NYCHA's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administrative fees and its Public Housing operating budget. The Public Housing operating budget is being reduced by about $27.7 million, and the Section 8 administrative fees NYCHA receives are being reduced by $7.5 million. And that's just for this fiscal year. NYCHA's annual Section 8 HCV administrative fees are about $76 million, so the HCV administrative fee cut represents about 10% of their overall allotment. What is important for current NYCHA tenants is that no current public housing resident or voucher recipient will see a decrease in their housing assistance. Residents will receive slower service, slower repair, and slower rehabilitation, according to the representative we spoke with. The cuts will force NYCHA to cut back on staffing and maintenance budgets, which only worsens an already difficult budgetary situation. In regards to the Wall Street Journal's report this week that the housing authority may also have an additional $150 million in budget cuts, our source confirmed that NYCHA is expecting further cuts. The funding cuts will be made to NYCHA's current fiscal year 2017 budget and will be reflected in its fiscal year 2018 budget. According to NYCHA, there are too many uncertainties to be able to state what specific financial decisions will be made at this time, but the housing authority is focused on the situation to serve its residents to its best ability. There are still questions about who within HUD gave the order to cut funding, and why the decision was made. HUD did not give NYCHA any information on why the cuts are being made, according tot he representative. NYCHA confirmed that the housing authority received a letter from HUD's central office in Washington D.C on February 26, 2017, but couldn't confirm who made the budget cut decisions or what office within HUD the cuts originated from. Although President Trump was in office, new HUD Secretary Ben Carson had yet to be confirmed to his position by that date. It is still not known who exactly gave the order to cut funding. We are actively trying to obtain the letter received by NYCHA, and have made a Freedom of Information Act request to HUD for the letter. Once received, the letter will provide insight on which person or department is responsible. If you are concerned about the future of affordable housing in America, you can get involved by contacting your state and federal representative. You can find your local representative here, and U.S. Senator contact information can be found here. There is some indication that these budget cuts may extend beyond New York City and we are working to confirm if any other Public Housing Authorities received similar budget cut letters from HUD.