President Gregory Floyd leads the second Summit meeting of union leaders representing NYCHA workers and members of the New York City Congressional Delegation.

The recovery of the New York City Housing Authority to its full potential is underway. Since Mayor de Blasio took office, a new NYCHA leader was named; the agency received much needed debt relief; and City Comptroller Scott Stringer launched an audit of the agency’s financial and operating practices to begin the rebuilding process.

These recent advancements chip away at the tip of a giant iceberg of issues that the Local 237 NYCHA Task Force discussed at their first meeting last February. Led by President Gregory Floyd, the Task Force provided NYCHA with an action plan of recommendations, many of which were implemented, to restore NYCHA’s status as the nation’s premier public housing system.

Since then, Local 237 has relentlessly pursued the goal of making NYCHA a better place for workers and residents. Most recently, Floyd hosted the second Summit Meeting of all 18 union leaders who represent NYCHA workers, along with members of the New York City Congressional Delegation. At the meeting, Comptroller Stringer’s representative confirmed that Stringer has initiated an audit of NYCHA’s financial and operating practices. The idea for an audit of NYCHA came up at the first Summit Meeting in November.

“I am gratified that the hardships our union members have long endured due to mismanagement at NYCHA are now going to be addressed,” said Floyd. “NYCHA is broken. Let’s fix it.”

“We owe it to the thousands of New Yorkers who have suffered from substandard public housing for too many years,” Stringer was quoted as saying in The Chief. “I am proud to support the labor leaders and elected officials who have taken the lead in calling for long overdue changes at NYCHA, including Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, and all of the Members of Congress who advocated for this,” including Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney, Yvette Clarke, and Grace Meng, and Congressmen Jerrold Nadler, Gregory Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries.

Floyd addresses the press as Congressman Gregory Meeks, left, looks on.

“I’m a child of public housing,” noted Meeks at a press conference following the second Summit. “I know the relationship between workers and tenants. That connection must continue.” Meeks called for directing resources to train NYCHA residents to become NYCHA workers.

Last April, Local 237 hosted a Mayoral Forum for candidates to share their vision for NYCHA’s future. In July, the union held a rally at City Hall Park to protest NYCHA’s plan to cut jobs and services. Also in July, President Floyd joined mayoral candidates as overnight guests of residents at Lincoln Houses in Manhattan, where they experienced public housing first hand.

“The objective is to make sure the focus and attention NYCHA deserves is given,” said Floyd, adding, “There is a lot of waste in NYCHA. We need to assess how we can better spend the money we have, and the opportunity is ripe with a new administration.”