Participatory Budgeting

NYCHA Overview NYCHA is the largest public housing authority in the United States 176,000+ public housing units across 300+ developments (~8% of NYC’s rental stock) NYCHA has more residents than cities like Pittsburgh, Tampa and Cleveland NYCHA is the largest landlord in New York City, and with that distinction come many challenges. The average age of NYCHA’s buildings is 53 years, with 60% of the portfolio at or older than 50 years. To give a sense of the scale of NYCHA’s holdings, 175 million vertical square feet is equivalent to 58 One World Trade Center towers.

Decreased Operating Funds

City Capital-Funded Project Requirements The NYC Comptroller’s Office is responsible for setting policy regarding eligibility requirements for City Capital-funded projects. The NYC Office of Management and Budget is responsible for interpreting these requirements. NYCHA can only agree to construct projects that OMB will consider capitally eligible, as per the Comptroller’s policies. This is something to consider when thinking about the type of the project, AND the scope of the project. We’ll discuss further as we progress through the slides.

Capital vs. Operational Funding Funded with bonds which means debt service will be paid over time. Project must last as long as the City is paying the debt service. Capital Funding long-lasting projects, permanent in nature Funded with tax payer dollars and spent the same year the taxes are collected. Operational/ Expense Funding short-term repairs, staffing and programming One key difference to understand is capital vs operational funding. You can think of it as similar to buying a home which you will pay off over many years, versus hiring someone to paint your home, or mow your lawn, which you would pay at the time the service was provided. Intergov- do we think PB committee members might be home owners, or are they most likley NYHCA residents? Should I use buying a car and paying it off over years and paying to get it cleaned at the car wash? We don’t do vehicles so that may be confusing though.

Capital Eligibility Examples of eligibility criteria: In general, funds must be used for a physical improvement/asset with a value of $35,000 or more and a “useful life” of at least five years. Construction or rehabilitation of grounds, playgrounds, security camera installations or expansions, lighting upgrades Examples of ineligible types of projects: Routine maintenance and repairs Staffing or programming Individual pieces of furniture or equipment

Recommended Projects (Minimum Funding Recommended) Playground Rehabilitations ($500,000) Play equipment and safety surfaces Sprinklers and drainage New pavement, plantings, and fencing Basketball Court Rehab ($500,000) New pavement and surfacing Backboard and hoop Benches and bleachers Ground Beautifications ($500,000) New pavement, lighting upgrade, benches, tables, trash receptacles and plantings Security Camera System ($500,000) Security operations center (SOC), cameras, infrastructure for cameras All projects will be designed to budget These are rough estimates. We can generally do something for this amount of funding, but does not mean it would be a complete playground renovation (esp. if a big one) or CCTV for a full development (could do the infrastructure and some cameras at a number of buildings to be determined). Must also include any needed soft costs – design costs, consultants, etc.

Projects that are not Possible/ Need a lot of Funding Not capitally eligible: Loose furniture for community centers Computers Painting or replacing old tiles Replace doors or the hardware on doors Appliances Security guards or caretakers Very expensive: Community center renovations Elevators Boilers

Community Centers Most of our centers are run by DYCD or DFTA NYCHA can be funded directly for community center room renovations, however, equipment such as computers must be allocated to the agency that runs the center Community Center renovations are very expensive

Questions Please email intergov@nycha.nyc.gov or call (212) 306-8100 with additional questions.