Community Advisory Committee Meeting – June 2022

On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, NYCHA Deputy Federal Monitor Dan Brownell and Resident Engagement Monitoring Team Leader Asha Muldro hosted the 17th meeting of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) via Zoom. A recording of the meeting is posted on the NYCHA Monitor’s YouTube channel.  A copy of the agenda is available here.

Mr. Brownell opened the meeting by thanking Alicka Ampry-Samuel, the New York/New Jersey HUD Region Two administrator, as well as the numerous NYCHA leaders, for their perseverance and the instrumental role they played to ensure the passage of the Public Housing Preservation Trust by the New York State Assembly and Senate.

Monitoring Team Member, Joseph Jaffe, provided highlights of the Trust which will allow NYCHA to create a public trust that can raise potentially billions of dollars to upgrade thousands of units. NYCHA Executive Vice President for Strategy and Innovation, Eva Trimble, announced the formation of a working group will begin soon to work on the organizational planning for the Trust and will include a resident comment period.

The meeting continued with updates from CAC members:

• Trimble reminded everyone that the beta version of the Capital Project Tracker is still available on the NYCHA website for feedback and anticipates it to be completed by the first quarter of 2023. She also announced the launch of a program to include resident briefings in Brooklyn on Monday, June 18, 2022. In addition, Ms. Trimble provided an update on the Resident Roundtables and reported that their recommendations for the implementation plan will be presented to NYCHA and monitoring team officials.
• New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Representative Michael Thomason, reported on the reissuance of 350 key fobs and the Department’s coordinated communication efforts with NYCHA security for non-emergency responses to reduce door damage.
• New York City Police Department Deputy Inspector, Howard Gottesman, reminded resident leaders to inform the NYPD of any scheduled events such as family days to ensure the department has enough resources to send to the event. He also announced the continuation of Operation Cornerstone, a program designed to keep the community centers open later in the evenings during the summer for NYCHA youth to utilize and keep them off the streets and away from gangs.
• NYCHA Vice President of Public Safety and Security, James Secreto, discussed a new partnership with the NYPD and homeless agencies to address the homeless issues at NYCHA. He is also working on a security plan for each development.
• Citywide Council of Presidents Inc., Treasurer, Lilithe Lozano mentioned that CCOP will be distributing information to residents affected by the Trust.
• New York City Council Member Alexa Aviles briefly introduced herself as the new Chair of the Committee on Public Housing. She also announced that she is participating in a joint hearing with the sanitation committee on June 21, 2022, to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding sanitation.
• New York City Department for the Aging Senior Director, Agnes Mak updated members on a grant the Department received to complete several nutritional workshops for seniors.
• NYCHA Resident Engagement Department Manager, Gina Watkins, reported that Spring elections are wrapping up and her department will be tackling issues with unrepresented developments to ensure residents are more involved and understand why representation is important.
• Nancy Ortiz informed members that she is now working with James Secreto in the Safety and Security Department to conduct site survey with a focus on addressing issues related to broken doors, homelessness, and gangs.
• South Jamaica Resident Association President, Manny Martinez, highlighted updates to Section 3 which includes engaging and enforcing contracts with contractors and penalizing them when they are in default, as well as making training programs available for residents qualified to participate in Section 3.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Brownell discussed the monitoring team’s plans to work with NYCHA’s Heat department during the summer months to develop a preventative management plan to work on boilers when they are not in use.

Ms. Muldro closed the meeting with a reminder to all community members to reach out to the monitoring team when necessary and to take note of the following upcoming meetings held by the federal monitor:

• Tuesday, July 12, 2022: Queens Community Meeting
• Tuesday, August 9, 2022: CAC Meeting