NYCHA is now facing more than $75 million in budget cuts this year from the Trump administration — and officials warned more may be on the way.
NYCHA chair Shola Olatoye testified Monday that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has notified the city of a new $40.5 million cut to Section 8, on top of more than $35 million estimated last week — bringing the total blow to the city so far to $75.8 million.
That’s before any changes to capital funding, which NYCHA is still awaiting word on.
Olatoye said the agency would have to consider stopping repair work after 4:30 p.m., which costs a premium, and reducing the number of Section 8 vouchers.
She also said there was a “very real concern and threat” that residents could see rent hikes, if Congress changes rules setting rent at 30% of a tenant’s income as some Republicans have proposed.
“The hard-fought gains to improve service levels may slip backwards at one of the first casualties of cuts,” Olatoye said at a City Council budget hearing. “I fear all that progress may be in jeopardy as we face the most uncertain times in public housing history.”
NYCHA now expects a $14 million deficit, instead of a surplus it was previously projecting.
“The presidency of Donald Trump poses the gravest threat to public housing in the 82 year history of the New York City Housing Authority,” said Councilman Ritchie Torres, chair of the public housing committee. “It would cripple the core operations of the housing authority and change life in public housing as we know it.”
Congressional reps joined other city pols to vow to fight the cuts at a rally outside City Hall.
“After years of disinvestment, these families, individuals and seniors already live in substandard conditions — leaky roofs, moldy walls, peeling paint and infestations,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler. “We cannot allow these devastating cuts to stand.”
