NYCHA Press Release 1_31_2013

							FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 31, 2013

If you are a member of the press, please contact the following Communications
Officers for additional information for your publication or news outlet:

NYCHA: Sheila Stainback or
Zodet Negrón
media@nycha.nyc.gov (212) 306-3322

    Mayor Bloomberg & NYCHA Chairman Rhea Announce Action Plan to
    Eliminate Backlog of Maintenance & Repair Requests in Public Housing

    By Hiring More Workers and Improving Efficiencies, NYCHA Sets Goal of
    Eliminating Backlog by End of 2013

    NYCHA Has Repurposed $40 Million from Administrative Costs to
    Frontline Through Cuts and Efficiencies

    Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority
    Chairman John Rhea today announced an aggressive plan with the goal of
    eliminating the backlog of 420,000 open repair work orders in NYCHA
    properties. Sustained underfunding by the Federal government has forced
    NYCHA to cut maintenance and repair staff, while at the same time,
    NYCHA properties that were constructed decades ago have suffered, as
    federal capital improvement and repair funding has also declined. As a result
    of Federal disinvestment, the wait time for some non-emergency repair
    requests made today can be as long as two years. Under this plan, NYCHA
    intends to institute new operational efficiencies and make changes to
    processes that will result in their achieving the following goals: eliminating
    the entire backlog of outstanding repair requests by the end of 2013;
    permanently reducing the average wait time for repair work to one week for
    minor corrective repairs and two weeks for repairs needing skilled tradesmen;
    and responding to all emergency repair requests within 24 hours. NYCHA
    also will provide quarterly reports on the status of the backlog reduction. The
    Mayor made the announcement at the Drew Hamilton Houses in West
    Harlem where he was joined by Assembly Member Keith Wright.

    “No one has felt the impact of Federal underfunding more than NYCHA
    residents, who have had to face long waits for repairs to apartments and
    public spaces,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Despite these severe funding
    challenges, we refuse to turn our backs on public housing – something we
    have seen other cities throughout the country do. Through better management
    of materials and equipment inventory, improved scheduling of skilled trades
    workers and by hiring more workers to make repairs, NYCHA will tackle the
    backlog of old repairs and deal with new requests more quickly.”
“Unlike so many other cities, New York City has refused to abandon public
housing and public housing residents,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development Robert K. Steel. “Today's commitment to reducing the
maintenance and repair backlog is the latest evidence of
Mayor Bloomberg's commitment to resident quality of life.”

“The New York City Housing Authority understands and respects our
residents’ frustration over the current backlog of repair and maintenance
work,” said NYCHA Chairman Rhea. “In spite of our budgetary constraints,
we have a responsibility to work smarter and better with what resources we
do have, which is why expediting maintenance and repairs has been a top
priority in our strategic roadmap Plan NYCHA. This Action Plan is our
commitment to seeking solutions to enhance our residents’ quality of life.”

“This Plan is the culmination of input from a broad group of NYCHA
stakeholders, including employees, unions, advocacy groups and residents,”
said NYCHA General Manager Cecil House. “With this Action Plan we are
empowering NYCHA workers with tools and resources that they need to
eliminate the backlog of repair work orders.”

NYCHA identified the biggest contributing factors to getting repairs
completed quickly: making sure enough quantity and quality of material and
equipment are available to do the repairs; coordinating the scheduling for
work of various skilled trades, such as carpenters, electricians, plasterers and
plumbers; and hiring additional labor to perform the work. NYCHA began
tackling the issue of the repair backlog beginning in 2010 by laying the
groundwork in its strategic roadmap Plan NYCHA, published in December
2011. The Authority began dedicating staff to a series of rapid repairs at
developments with the highest number of backlogged work orders in June
2011, addressing 102,000 outstanding repairs to date.

“This plan looks good on paper and could well work,” Local 237 President
Gregory Floyd, who represents 7,000 NYCHA workers, said. “Our members
have always done this best and will continue to do so. We will evaluate the
plan’s progress over the next quarter.”

“I commend NYCHA for endeavoring upon an ambitious and essential plan
to reduce the persistent work order backlog entirely by the end of this year,”
said Council Member Rosie Mendez, Chair of Council’s Public Housing
Committee. “I am proud to partner with NYCHA on this initiative, which is a
natural outgrowth of the $10 Million in funding the City Council provided in
the FY 2013 Budget to hire 176 residents in new jobs to address over
100,000 work orders in the current queue. I hope we can continue to work in
alliance to provide our residents with the services they need to grow and
thrive in their homes.”
“I commend John Rhea and the Executive team for coming up with a strategy
and plan to address the backlog work orders that are necessary,”
said Reginald Bowman, President of the Citywide Council of President, a
residents' leaders group. “And I applaud the Mayor for assisting NYCHA
with the resources necessary to get the job done for the residents.”

The announcement took place at the Drew Hamilton Houses in West Harlem,
where NYCHA used $25 million from its federalization transaction to invest
in capital improvements and maintenance and repairs for its 3,000 residents.
NYCHA launched a rapid repair team in June 2011, grouping maintenance
and skilled workers to help reduce significant repair backlogs. The team of
workers targeted buildings with the highest number of repair work orders per
apartment, including Drew Hamilton. NYCHA is executing the Action Plan
with savings created from Plan NYCHA initiatives that include reducing
Central Office costs that has realized $10 million to reinvest in this frontline
effort. The Plan was devised with input from employees that included
Property Management staff such as maintenance workers; Customer Contact
Center staff who handle maintenance requests and complaints from residents
and staff; skilled trades employees; and staff from all other NYCHA
departments.