Fears Confirmed: Trump Administration Cuts NYCHA Funding

Recent fears of the future of affordable housing under the Trump administration have been confirmed, as The Wall Street Journal reported last night that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will have its federal aid reduced by at least $35 million this year. NYCHA, which serves all five boroughs of New York City, provides rental assistance for more than 400,000 New York residents. According to the news article, this is the largest decrease of funding NYCHA has experienced in five years. No explanation has been given as to why funding has been cut. “The direction we’re moving in is one where public housing is drastically different or doesn’t exist,” NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Shola Olatoye told The Wall Street Journal. “The progress we have made over the course of the last three years - it’s not that it’s at risk. It evaporates.”

NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Shola Olatoye

Many industry experts, including our CEO and founder David Layfield, expressed concerns even before Trump became president that he would reduce or eliminate funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its rental assistance programs. Just last month, a housing authority in Florida canceled its scheduled Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list opening due to the uncertainty that it will receive enough federal funding to serve the persons that would be placed on the waiting list. So far, this is the only housing authority we have encountered that has canceled a waiting list opening for this specific reason. This housing authority cited instructions it had received by a phone call from the HUD regional office that budget cuts were on the way. It is unclear of that cancellation (and the referenced cuts) are associated with the recent NYCHA budget cuts. The specifics of the $35 million cut are unclear at this time. It is not yet known if the cuts are slated across the board, or to specific programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program or Public Housing. According to NYCHA, the budget cuts were communicated to them in a February 26, 2017 letter from HUD. However, given that Ben Carson or any other high ranking Trump appointees were not serving at HUD at that time, who initiated the budget cuts and the letter in question is still a mystery. We have reached out to NYCHA for additional comment and will be speaking with a NYCHA representative later this afternoon. We will update this article with any new information learned in that call. [UPDATE: Read what we learned from NYCHA about these cuts.] We have also filed an expedited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to HUD for the February 26, 2017, letter (and any other associated communications) referenced in the Wall Street Journal story. We will provide a copy of the letter as soon as HUD makes it available to us. Another mystery is whether any other housing authority received a letter notifying them of forthcoming budget cuts. We are working to learn more about how wide-ranging these housing budget cuts might be. There has been some hope among industry professionals, such as the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, that Secretary Carson will work with housing authorities to provide sufficient funding for those in need of housing assistance. However, this recent news only confirms fears that the entire affordable housing industry will face great difficulty serving the millions of low-income renters who struggle to pay rent while President Donald Trump is in office.