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June 10, 2008
NYCHA Budget Woes Could Kill Long-Delayed ENY Facility
The Times has a sad, frustrating story about how the the New York City Housing Authority may be abandoning its plan to build a community center in East New York's Marcus Garvey housing project. NYCHA tore down a playground in the project eight years ago and started construction on the 5,500-square-foot center that was supposed to rise in its place. Although the facility is now mostly completed, NYCHA says it may not have the funds to operate the center—or nearly 100 others around the city. “NYCHA has taken a big hit,” says Councilman Erik Martin Dilan. “The children’s programs are obviously in jeopardy, and unless we save them, we might as well set up gang recruitment centers. Kids need their community centers to stay out of trouble.” The East New York building, which is supposed to serve the more than 1,048 families who live in the project, has been plagued by delays rooted in rising construction costs and the bankruptcy of a contractor. NYCHA, meanwhile, is facing a $195 million budget deficit this year, which many believe will lead to worsening conditions at public housing around the city.
Promised Brooklyn Community Center May Not Open [NY Times]
NYCHA Funding Shortfall Could Mean Dark Days for Projects [Brownstoner]
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Comments
Closer to home, this is the same outrageous situation at the Ingersoll Community Center. Ratner built 15 MetroTech two blocks away in less time than it took to build the two-story center and now that its finally done, it just sits there empty.
If NYCHA doesn't have any money, it should issue a request for proposals and find an operator willing to put up its own funds. Even if the RFP generates no money for the housing authority, an operating community center is better than an empty shell. This is government at its worst.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 10:25 AM
I agree. I have been dealing with NYCHA for almost a decade.
The mis-management and corruption is huge.
I think the first place to start in order to save some money is for the members of the NYCHA board to take a cut in their six figure salary and give up some of their perks.
Then, its time for NYCHA to face the music, and realize that some of their developments have to be torn down and rebuilt.
They have so many vacant units throughout the city that no one can live in because the conditions of lead paint, mold, leaking pipes, etc. is so bad that people can't live in them.
These developments were built on the cheap during the 1920's, 30's & 40's. And they were never expected to have more then a 40 year lifespan.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 10:43 AM
The bigger issue is staffing and operating these centers. The tutoring program at Gowanus Houses had to be suspended because the community center was closed due to funding. These centers are wonderful and there should be outrage in the community about their closing. Mayor Mike should use some of his philanthropy to fund them -- and maybe even train and staff volunteers to help run them.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 10:49 AM
Why would someone live in ENY when they could live in the Slope? Al la di is so much better than the Popeyes @ Broadway Junction.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:03 AM
Because one essentially gets paid by the City to live in ENY, and in PS YOU have to pay to live there.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:20 AM
11:03 What's your point? One measure of a city is how well we take care of our old and our young. In this matter NYCHA and by extension New York City are failures of the worst kind. The tower in the park design was the model for many NYCHA projects such as Ingersoll and Marcus Garvey. It's purpose was to eliminate the blight of slum housing and the attendant issue. In the ensuing years, we all know that children cannot play in the street. It's just not safe. Here's the thing. IT IS CHEAPER to provide community centers that benefit the children than building a prison and supporting that prisoner for a year.
NYCHA, finish what you start to ensure the physical and developmental health of our children so that they can support the health of the city with their taxable income.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:29 AM
If Bloomberg is such a great manager, why can't he clean up this mess? I wonder if anything at all has changed at NYCHA under his tenure.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:38 AM
lol @ ranting response to 11:03 who was clearly making fun of park slope hijackers.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:47 AM
Interesting article - thanks for posting it, Gabby. It's always good when brownstoner posts about neighborhoods beyond the gentrification belt.
I agree with 10:25 - lease the center to a community-based non-profit and let them take care of operations. Otherwise, a brand-new building will sit empty and millions of dollars will have gone to waste.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:51 AM
Don't kid yourself 11:20. There are people in Park Slope who receive Section 8 and are on government subsidies of one sort or another. They may be few and far in between but they are there and they put on airs as though they don't work because they are "old money."
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 12:42 PM
how much undeveloped land does nycha currently own or have the rights to develop?
Posted by: BrooklynLove at June 10, 2008 12:58 PM
Unfortunately a lot of the nonprofit community groups that would love to run these centers, don't have the funds to do it and aren't getting the funds. But I love the suggestion that Mayor Mike should put his money where his mouth is and fund them. These centers are too important for the future. these are not fluff programs, these are save-your-life programs.
Posted by: bxgrl at June 10, 2008 1:02 PM
12:58
Quite a bit. I've done a few jobs for the NYCHA dealing with this very issue.
Posted by: Polemicist at June 10, 2008 1:13 PM
BrooklynLove, because of the tower-in-the-park design, the floor area ratio at many NYCHA developments is surprisingly low.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 1:24 PM
It is more or less an accepted fact that tearing down housing projects is the only answer, both to the isue of corruption and also to serving the people who live there.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 1:27 PM
Speaks volumes about our priorities. This facility is directly proportional to the solution against youth gun violence.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 1:55 PM
Youth gun violence amongst poor asians in chinatown is virtually nil. What have these facilities got to do with that?
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 2:35 PM
"Unfortunately a lot of the nonprofit community groups that would love to run these centers, don't have the funds to do it and aren't getting the funds."
On what do you base this statement?
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 2:56 PM
would be interesting to see an econ feasibility study re cost effectiveness to nycha of selling prime location decrepid money draining properties to a developer bundled with the obligation upon the developer to finance at least some portion of development of unbuilt nycha land, re-development of other under-developed nycha property and/or re-development of other decrepid money draining nycha properties. net effect would be more nycha units, higher quality units, and lower maintenace cost per unit, although some units shifted to a less valuable location. not pleasant for uprooted families but maybe a higher quality home in return is a fair/acceptable trade-off.
getting the numbers out there for discussion could go a long way to addressing the bombshell of selling off nycha property as a general concept.
Posted by: BrooklynLove at June 10, 2008 3:13 PM
Brownstoner,
This is in Brownsville, not East New York. East New York Starts on the other side of the L train tracks at Van Sinderen
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 4:28 PM
Brownstoner,
This is in Brownsville, not East New York. East New York Starts on the other side of the L train tracks at Van Sinderen
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 4:28 PM
No, 1:27, it is not more or less an accepted fact, at least not in New York City, which has one of the best public housing systems in the country. And BrooklynLove, NYCHA isn't selling off any developments either.
What we might (operable word) see in New York, is some new buildings added to existing properties that change the economics for NYCHA and the socio-economics of the given development. For example, build a new middle-income building on an under-utilized parking lot. But that's about as big an intervention as I foresee.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 5:48 PM
NYCHA has made tremendous strides over the last 8 years despite an unrelenting funding assault by the federal govt. NYCHA is not a Mayoral agency and doesn't receive more that a pittance of city funding (none of it baselined). Over 400,000 NY'ers live in those buildings, a good sized city anywhere else. When the (highly regulated) rent and HUD subsidy = 82% of your operating expenses, guess what? The completely unfunded community centers (and a host of NYCHA provided community and social support services) have to go. And btw there are many community centers built by NYCHA that ARE operated by local non-profits...most of whom have been sucking on the NYCHA capital and operating funding teet for decades. It's not like there are community groups that can afford to carry the full nut of staffing and operating a community center in these nabes chomping at the bit.
Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 8:56 PM
I am an employee at NYCHA's Design Department. I can tell you that NYCHA's Capital Projects Division is so mismanaged, it's pitiful. Reoganization after reorganization and every time, it gets more mismanaged. On the bright side, NYCHA has done some wonderful community centers - e.g. Williamsburg. I personally was a Project Manager for three NYCHA centers - two of them were constructed and turned out great. The third was reassigned to someone else during a reorganization in 2004 and the documents just sat in a box for three years until it was resurrected.
The Marcus Garvey center was horribly designed from the start. I went out there to take a look at it a couple of years ago, and honestly, it should be demolished and the Authority should just start over. The construction documents by the consultant architect were abysmal. And to top it all off, David Burney, Chairman of DDC, and former Director of Design at NYCHA, agreed to all of the ridiculous design decisions for this project.
NYCHA now has virtually no new community center projects in the pipeline. A stark contrast to nearly ten years ago when we had like 30 of them going on at one time, either in Design or Construction phases.
NYCHA is planning to tear down 22 of 39 buildings at Randolph Houses and replace it with....ONE building. While NYCHA cries poverty, they're giving CMs under contract millions and millions in fees. Professional staff are leaving in droves. Unfortunately, NYCHA's best days are behind it.
Posted by: guest at June 11, 2008 10:12 AM
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