SUBJECT:

PURPOSE:

On April 20, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced a seven-point plan to preserve public housing. One key aspect of this plan is a proposal to increase rents by up to forty percent for certain tenants. This rent increase would effect the approximately 27% of NYCHA tenants who are paying ceiling rents. Rents for these households would increase by 10%, 20% or 40% over a two-year period. Other aspects of the plan include an allocation of $100 million from the City of New York, Section 8 funding, to subsidize 8,400 State and City apartments, acceleration of repairs of building exteriors and infrastructure improvements, management and technological improvements, and diversify revenue streams.

Please below for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony, and for a description of the bills which will be discussed at the hearing.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled in the order in which reply forms are postmarked.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

SELECTED ISSUES TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:

1. How many households will be affected by the proposed rent increase?

2. How will the new rents compare to market rents in the areas surrounding the effected housing authority projects?

3. What incentive will tenants who will be affected by the rent increase have to remain in their public housing project? What affect would higher income tenants leaving housing authority projects have on the make-up and viability of those projects?

4. For what purpose will NYCHA use the money from the increased rents? Can tenants expect increased or improved services from the increase in rent?

5. How can tenants be better represented on the NYCHA Board? Would A.2130 (Lopez) be an effective means to establish better tenant representation?

6. What action can the State take to help preserve public housing units in New York City?

7. Will the proposal to use Section 8 vouchers for public housing tenants mean fewer vouchers available to other needy households in New York City? What will happen in the long run to the 8,400 units NYCHA proposes to convert to the Section 8 program?

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on Rent Increase Proposed By The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to:

Caryn Canfield
Legislative Associate
Assembly Committee on Housing
Room 513 - Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Email: canfiec@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4355
Fax: (518) 455-4128

I will address my remarks to the following subjects:

I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of assistance required: