CM Avilés questions OMB on NYCHA vacant unit readiness funding
Avilés presses for $100 million capital and $70 million expense to address 6,200 vacant NYCHA units. Solomon details $374 million total allocated ($256 million capital, $118 million expense) as historic funding, but Avilés argues it's insufficient and units need to be front-loaded, not stretched to 2030.
On NYCHA vacant unit readiness, our favorite, one of our favorite topics, thank you for your collaboration in trying to address this profound issue of the 6,200 units that remain vacant throughout NYCHA campuses.
Obviously, we have been pushing to
obtain 100 million in capital and 70 million in expense to really be able to meet that full need to obtain the full scope of getting those units ready and online for New Yorkers.
Can you tell me
how what progress is being made and expanding those commitments to meet that goal?
Sure, we agree.
Obviously, that's why we added funding, the most that we can add, given the funding envelope to the budget.
It's also something that is highlighted in the block-by-block housing plan.
It's something that we really want to lean into.
We've allocated nearly $374 million to the vacant unit and readiness program.
That's total in terms of talking about $256 million in city capital funding across fiscal years 2026 to 2028 and $118 million in expense funding across fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 30.
When you really put this in perspective, it's an historic amount of funding for the program.
We know there's always more to do, but I think given the backdrop of the fiscal challenges that we have, the fact that we stepped forward with this investment shows meaningful progress.
Yeah, thank you for that investment.
I think we'll continue to push that.
That New Yorkers and NYCHA residents can't wait till 2030 to be transferred out of an apartment.
That needs to get front-loaded now, or at least we need to try to maximize, in the short, the amount of units that we are able to turn over.
And we still feel like we haven't hit that right threshold.
We are still far behind.
And not as urgent in this funding.
And again, this would house thousands of New Yorkers immediately.
We don't need to build new buildings.
We don't need acquisition.
These are New Yorkers that can be housed today within the next two years, not 2030.
So thank you.
We'll continue to have that conversation and keep pushing to maximize that investment in the immediate.
Because when we do the numbers over the long term,
It's a bump up, but it's not where we need to be.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Great.
Councilmember Marte, followed by Hankerson.