Hundreds of NYCHA apartments taken over by squatters as vacancies soar, report finds
Lilian Wald Houses in the East Village. Photo by Tdorante10 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 on Wikimedia
Squatters have occupied hundreds of New York City public housing apartments in recent years, as the number of empty units continues to rise, a new report shows. According to the report released Tuesday by the city’s Department of Investigation, the number of vacant NYCHA units increased from 2,840 in January 2022 to approximately 6,740 vacancies as of last May, despite 165,000 households waiting for an apartment. According to the DOI, the surge in empty units and the “absence of regular inspections” have fueled unauthorized occupancy, prompting the NYPD, DOI, and NYCHA to recover 548 apartments from illegal squatters over three years.
“NYCHA apartments that sit vacant reduce the already limited availability of the city’s public housing stock, and without appropriate security measures, pose a public safety risk for public housing residents, employees and contractors,” Christopher Ryan, acting DOI commissioner, wrote.
“DOI’s investigation found that NYCHA must do more to stop trespassing and other illegal activity in vacant apartments. The security deficiencies found heighten the risk of illegal occupancy in the thousands of unoccupied units,” he added.
The report notes that thousands of NYCHA apartments remain vacant for an average of a year due to multiple factors. Units with lead paint or asbestos must undergo remediation, and the agency’s longstanding financial troubles have further delayed renovations.
As a result, trespassers have moved into some units and, according to the DOI, used them as a “base for illegal activities.” Between January 2022 and May 2025, the NYPD and DOI reclaimed 548 apartments from squatters, which resulted in 81 arrests for various charges, including trespassing, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the report.
In May 2023, the NYPD discovered the body of a man fatally shot inside an apartment at the Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx. That same month at Surfside Gardens in Brooklyn, police arrested two men illegally occupying a NYCHA unit who were found with a pistol and were allegedly affiliated with the “Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation” gang.
The DOI notes that NYCHA only recently began regularly inspecting vacant apartments to confirm their status. In 2023, the agency called on the NYPD to target unauthorized occupants across its 160,000-unit portfolio.
In September 2024, NYCHA established a uniform procedure for addressing suspected squatting, requiring staff to contact the NYPD only when there is a “perceived imminent threat” to public safety. The agency also began systematically documenting suspected trespassing incidents and the apartments involved, which has resulted in limited data on alleged squatting prior to September 2024.
The report cites NYCHA’s policy of equipping all vacant units in a development with the same lock. Using different locks, the agency says, would create an “operational challenge” that makes it difficult for workers to access apartments during renovations. DOI recommends that NYCHA install unique locks for each unit, and the agency has already agreed to comply.
The DOI also recommends that NYCHA expand its Resident Watch program, which patrols and reports suspected illicit activity on NYCHA property, to encourage more reporting of trespassing.
RELATED:
