Commissioner Dalton details shelter conditions and repair processes
Dalton says 58% of shelter buildings predate 1980, DHS inspects and repairs, publishes a repair scorecard, and standard shelters average fewer than four open violations while flexible hotels average about 42.
When it comes to shelter conditions, maintaining safety also depends on the conditions of our more than 500 buildings, which vary in age, size, ownership, and original purpose.
58% of our buildings were built before 1980, and many were converted to shelter use to meet that demand.
Keeping them in good condition requires regular inspections, timely repairs, preventive maintenance, and long-term capital planning.
We are closing older and substandard facilities and prioritizing purpose-built shelters designed around
trauma-informed care.
DHS regularly reviews provider performance on safety and building maintenance.
Routine site review inspections conducted with the provider staff and the Department of Buildings, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Fire Department, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene identify code violations, hazards, and hazards before they become more serious.
Providers are expected to address severe deficiencies within 24 hours of receiving the results.
DHS publishes a quarterly shelter repair scorecard so New Yorkers can see the conditions in our shelter buildings.
Conditions in our standard shelters have improved dramatically since 2016 when the city's shelter repair squad cut open violations in traditional shelters by 83% in nine months.
Today, our 365 standard shelters average fewer than four open violations each, and only one in 10 is high priority.
Those numbers have held steady even as the system has grown, and city agencies have completed more than 4,300 inspections so far this year.
The challenge is in our flexible capacity system, which is about 169 sites, mostly commercial hotels, open to meet a surge in demand.
These buildings average about 42 open violations each.
This is something to better understand and correct.
It's also one reason we are reducing our reliance on hotels, particularly for families with children.
Residents and staff can also report problems through our shelter repair hotline.
Last year, the hotline received 2,934 complaints.
Each complaint is followed up by the resident and the provider, and for serious problems, Department of Buildings or HPD may inspect and issue violations.
Each repair has to be assessed as routine maintenance, an urgent fix, or a larger capital project.
DHS's Asset Information Management System documents capital needs in city-owned buildings, such as boilers, plumbing, electrical systems, fire alarms, roofs, elevators, and bathrooms.
There are 55 city and state-owned buildings in our portfolio, and major repairs must go through the city's capital program.
For FY27, we have $106 million for 102 projects across 38 shelters.
Eight are complete, and 31 are in active construction and expected to finish by June 2027.
The rest are in planning, design, or procurement.
For privately owned buildings, responsibility for repair depends on the provider's arrangement with the owner.
Providers responsible for routine maintenance have a budget for it, which varies with the site's age and layout.
When a larger repair is the provider's responsibility, our facilities and logistics team helps to identify solutions.
If the provider's budget can't cover the costs, we submit a request to OMB.
We are reviewing these processes to remove administrative bottlenecks, give providers more visibility, and speed up repairs whenever possible.