Last week, City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn and
Public Housing Committee Chair Rosie Mendez presented a proposal for improving
operations in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Quinn’s and Mendez’s proposal includes
recommendations that would increase transparency by making public records
easily accessible and the tracking of critical infrastructure statuses
available to residents.
According to
NYCHA Resident Board Member Victor Gonzalez, improving and preserving NYCHA as
an organization is an imperative. “I am sure it’s all over the country but
in the New York City area we have a housing issue,” he says. “Why not work with
what I consider the best of affordable housing and keep it and preserve it for
the future? That is now more important than ever due to the fact that we have a
crisis in housing.”
NYCHA is constantly evolving and changing, which can make it
easy to lose sight of ultimate goals. But Plan NYCHA, which has been dubbed the
organization’s “Roadmap for Preservation,” has set out a list of ten “Core
Imperatives.” These imperatives communicate long-term goals for NYCHA as a
whole.
Looking at the ten core imperatives, it becomes evident that
NYCHA is already working toward addressing some of Speaker Quinn’s suggestions.
The fifth imperative. “Strengthen the frontline,” details how NYCHA will serve
all properties and incorporate the “best practices from property management
companies to provide excellent service and high quality management.”
The ninth imperative states that NYCHA will “excel in
customer service,” improving communications between residents and the
organization and streamlining services. In doing so, NYCHA will become more
customer-focused.
Making public information more available and implementing a
status tracking system for critical infrastructures are small goals that fit
easily into the overarching imperatives already set out. With enough funding
and support, Speaker Quinn’s proposal could certainly come to pass.
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