Report: Living conditions in private, low-income housing are 'horrendous'

Poor living conditions are not just a New York City Housing Authority problem, but a private low income housing problem too, according to a new report from Community Service Society. 

The latest “Unheard Third” survey, reported exclusively by City & State and New York Nonprofit Media, revealed “horrendous” living conditions, adding that  “NYCHA conditions, when bad, are very bad.” Even so, according to the report, private housing is not necessarily “healthier or safer” than NYCHA.

“In an effort to better understand what CSS calls the Other Housing Crisis, beyond the often-studied supply shortage and lack of affordability, we dig deeper into both who is facing the brunt of these declining housing conditions and how serious they are for New York’s families,” states the report, co-authored by Iziah Thompson, Oksana Mironova, Sam Stein, and Lonnie Portis. 

The report collected survey data from New Yorkers in 2023, which helped to identify the problematic living conditions experienced by residents living in NYCHA, Section 8 and  privately managed Rental Assistance Demonstration/Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program housing.

Key findings from the report found residents experience:

• Limited access to clean or hot water
• Limited access to heat 
• Leaks and mold
• Higher child emergency asthma visits compared to community districts without NYCHA developments
• Poor landlord tenant relationship in terms of respect and meeting repair needs in private housing. 
• Increased eviction attempts in private housing 

More specifically, the report found that more than a third of NYCHA residents and a fourth of low-income, non-public housing residents do not have access to clean drinking water. The report cites a 2020 Morning Consult Poll and SOURCE Global PBD survey which reveal that Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to distrust the safety of tap water compared to white Americans. 

CSS claims that when a Brooklyn public housing resident died last July due to Legionnaires’ disease, a serious type of pneumonia likely contracted in his home, NYCHA health officials offered safety precautions to residents that did not align with that of city officials. The inconsistent and misleading guidelines could have been detrimental to the health of other residents. 

Residents also reported limited access to heat or hot water, due to broken boilers during cold winter temperatures. Last December, residents made more than 1,500,311 complaints over 10 separate days. 

Almost 49% of NYCHA residents reported that leaks and mold were a serious problem, with many residents complaining of asbestos spreading around their home, along with unaddressed household repairs. 

Not only are mold and leaks a health concern for asthma sufferers living in New York City’s dilapidated housing, but exposure to particulate matter due to gas stove use and poor ventilation are cause for concern as well.

“In 2022, Community Districts with 10 or more NYCHA developments had 318 child asthma

emergency department visits per 10,000 residents compared to 183 visits per 10,000 residents for those with 1-4 NYCHA developments. Community Districts with 0 NYCHA developments had just 87 such visits over the period,” the report says. 

Residents living in NYCHA housing have more protections than those living in public housing, whose complaints may not be taken seriously, citing low landlord performance ratings and stats on eviction attempts. For instance, noting a margin of error, 30-56%, RAD/PACT residents have experienced eviction threats. 

“Private landlords can often hide similar issues – with the threat of eviction and rent increases – until they bring about catastrophe like the deadly Twin Parks fire in 2022 or the partial collapse of a Morris Heights building in 2023,” says the report. 

The report offers ways to improve the quality of life for these residents:

1. Stronger code enforcement across housing types via:
   1. Expansion of proactive enforcement
   2. Expansion and reform 7A building management program
   3. Collection of civil and financial penalties
2. RAD/PACT-specific transparency by:
   1. Passing the Int. No. 110 City Council legislation with several additions
   2. Returning RAD/PACT sites to the NYCHA Development Map geographic data and Development Databook by simply including a column that denotes its RAD/PACT conversion status
   3. Adopt transparency similar to Massachusetts, including a RAD Resident’s Bill of Rights
   4. Providing and publishing a more robust and standard presentation of resident conditions and performance ratings
   5. Returning RAD/PACT sites to public management upon resident request and create a resident management shadowing program

Thompson, the lead author of the report, shared more about the report and the identified solutions. “The only big change is that there was an increase in the housing budget and we have a statement out,” Thompson said. “It's more than what we expected, which I definitely see as a win, but it's not dealing with some of the things that we need dealt with, issues like insulation spaces between joints and buildings, windows and doors that aren't efficient, facades that are falling apart.”

“All these things are still issues that we need to build,” Thompson added.  “The other big thing is some of that has to do with NYCHA, but then there's the code enforcement side of things for the private market. We need the laws that are on the books to be enforced, and for the code enforcement divisions to be empowered to actually do the job.”

“At the end of the day, taxpayers are funding these projects – how much of the cash flows from these projects are going to private individuals, and what are the repairs being made? And how much is it costing? Knowing what the actual capital needs ended up being and what the scopes for the projects are is information that benefits the wider housing community. Ultimately, independent measurement of residents’ experiences should be a basic aspect of any major transformation,” Thompson said. 

The report applauded NYCHA’s creation of trackers linked on their website for RAD/ PACT maintenance and repairs, construction and tenancy proceedings, but expressed concern that a page with engagement, design, construction, and retention guidelines, as well as reporting requirements, and mold, efficiency, grievance procedure and lead requirements, plus documents displaying residents' priorities and other key information had recently been eliminated. 

The tracker is still up. However, was eliminated.

A spokesperson for NYCHA, when reached by City & State for comment about the report, noted that the city’s public housing had undergone “transformative changes,” over the past five years. At the same time, NYCHA used “every available tool to invest in and renovate our properties in the face of decades of federal disinvestment and mounting physical needs,” the spokesperson said in an email statement.

"Since the signing of the HUD Agreement in 2019, we have worked with rigorous oversight and robust transparency to establish our Transformation Plan, leading to marked improvements in the pillar areas, fundamental changes to management structure, and the adoption of best practices across the board,” the spokesperson added. “NYCHA is on a better path, and we look forward to continuing this work in close partnership with the residents we serve." 

CSS has been helping New Yorkers since 1835, providing research, services, and advocacy directly helping to better serve city residents. Some of their achievements include using survey data and labor coalition groups to help raise New York City and New York state's minimum wage, campaigning for paid sick leave legislation, paid family leave legislation, affordable mass transit for low income New Yorkers, protecting rent stabilized tenants, and much more.