NYCHA

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

March 4, 2026

Hundreds of NYCHA apartments taken over by squatters as vacancies soar, report finds

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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.
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Judge temporarily halts demolition of NYCHA complex in Chelsea

Credit: Elvert Barnes on Flickr

February 24, 2026

Judge temporarily halts demolition of NYCHA complex in Chelsea

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A plan to demolish two Chelsea public housing complexes and replace more than 2,000 units has been temporarily halted after a judge issued a restraining order Thursday. Judge Margaret Chen issued the stay on the New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) Fulton and Chelsea-Elliot Houses, part of a plan to replace 18 buildings and create 2,500 market-rate units across the two complexes, as The City reported. The order comes after a group of tenants successfully appealed to stop the project, which NYCHA approved in October 2024, following the dismissal of their initial lawsuit last month.
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NYC invests nearly $40M to bring clean heat pumps to Rockaways NYCHA complex

Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

February 5, 2026

NYC invests nearly $40M to bring clean heat pumps to Rockaways NYCHA complex

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New York City is investing nearly $40 million to bring clean heating and cooling to more than 700 homes at a public housing complex in the Rockaways. Announced on Wednesday by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the $38.4 million investment will install clean, reliable heat pumps in 712 apartments at NYCHA’s Beach 41st Houses in Edgemere, among the first NYCHA residences to receive custom-designed heat pumps under the agency’s “Clean Heat for All” initiative. The initiative aims to expand clean heat pump installations to more than 10,000 NYCHA apartments by 2030.
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Housing code violations at NYCHA buildings are now public

East River Houses Credit: Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

October 9, 2025

Housing code violations at NYCHA buildings are now public

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For the first time, New York City public housing residents can see housing code violations for their buildings online. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development began posting violations at NYCHA buildings on an online public portal this week and via NYC Open Data, following a June legal settlement. The records include more than 500 violations documented through court-ordered inspections since September 15. Housing advocates are hailing the portal for providing the same access to information long available to private tenants, just a week after a partial collapse at a Mott Haven NYCHA building.
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NYCHA approves plan to raze and replace two Chelsea public housing complexes

Photo of the Fulton Houses complex courtesy of Elvert Barnes on Flickr

October 31, 2024

NYCHA approves plan to raze and replace two Chelsea public housing complexes

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A plan to demolish and replace more than 2,000 public housing units in Chelsea moved forward on Wednesday. The board of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) voted to advance a proposal to replace 18 buildings at the Fulton and Chelsea-Elliot Houses and make way for thousands of new market-rate apartments across the two campuses. The adoption of the Master Development Agreement kicks off the next phase of the project, the largest of its kind in NYCHA history.
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NYC financed the most new affordable homes on record this fiscal year

Photo courtesy of Joshua Armstrong on Unsplash

July 30, 2024

NYC financed the most new affordable homes on record this fiscal year

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New York City has produced a record-breaking number of affordable housing units for back-to-back years, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday. In the fiscal year 2024, the city financed 28,944 affordable and public housing units through new construction and preservation efforts, the highest for any fiscal year. The mayor also touted his administration's effort to move a record number of homeless New Yorkers into permanent housing, streamline the housing lottery system, and build the most supportive homes and homes for homeless New Yorkers in the city's history.
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How to apply for NYC’s Section 8 voucher waitlist

Image courtesy of edwardhblake on Flickr

June 4, 2024

How to apply for NYC’s Section 8 voucher waitlist

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The New York City Housing Authority's Section 8 housing voucher waitlist reopened on Monday for the first time in 15 years, allowing low-income families to apply for rental subsidies. The waitlist's reopening comes as New Yorkers struggle to afford the cost of living amid skyrocketing rent prices due to the city's housing crisis. Once the application period closes on June 9, NYCHA will randomly place 200,000 applications on the waitlist. As of Tuesday morning, nearly 313,000 applications were already submitted. Ahead, find out what you should know about applying for the Section 8 housing voucher waitlist, including eligibility requirements, deadlines, and waitlist preferences.
how to apply
Studio Gang’s agricultural education hub at Gravesend NYCHA complex breaks ground

Marlboro Agricultural Education Center (MAEC), view from West 11th Street. © Studio Gang

June 3, 2024

Studio Gang’s agricultural education hub at Gravesend NYCHA complex breaks ground

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Work has begun on a Studio Gang-designed urban agricultural education center that will teach young Brooklyn residents about nutrition and provide healthy food. City officials on Saturday broke ground on the 9,900-square-foot Marlboro Agricultural Education Center (MAEC) at the New York City Housing Authority's Marlboro Houses in Gravesend. The $18.2 million facility, located on West 11th Street between Avenues W and X, includes a rooftop greenhouse to raise fish and plants, a teaching kitchen, a pantry where greens will be grown on-site and then delivered to residents, and multi-purpose room for programs and workshops.
green in gravesend
NYCHA to reopen Section 8 voucher waitlist for first time in 15 years

Image courtesy of Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

May 21, 2024

NYCHA to reopen Section 8 voucher waitlist for first time in 15 years

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The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will accept applications for its Section 8 housing voucher program for the first time in 15 years. The Housing Choice Voucher (HVC) program allows families to pay no more than 40 percent of their monthly income for rent, with NYCHA covering the remaining amount. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced the reopening of the waitlist, which has been closed since 2009, allowing low-income households to apply for rental subsidies on the private market. Eligible households may apply to the program starting Monday, June 3 at 12 a.m. through Sunday, June 9 at 11:59 p.m.
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5,000 NYCHA apartments are sitting vacant, new report finds

Drew Hamilton Houses in Harlem. Photo by Jim.henderson on Wikimedia

February 22, 2024

5,000 NYCHA apartments are sitting vacant, new report finds

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Despite the city's current housing and homelessness crisis, about 5,000 public housing apartments are sitting vacant. According to a report published Wednesday by Bart Schwartz, the federal monitor overseeing the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), a special team assembled by the agency to expedite turning over vacant apartments has actually slowed down the process, leaving apartments in need of repairs empty for months, as The City reported. The number of empty NYCHA apartments has increased from just about 490 in 2021 to nearly 5,000 as of last month, even though roughly 240,000 New Yorkers are on the waitlist for an apartment.
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70 NYCHA workers charged with bribery and extortion

NYCHA LaGuardia Houses; Photo via Wikimedia

February 6, 2024

70 NYCHA workers charged with bribery and extortion

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Dozens of current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were charged on Tuesday with bribery and extortion offenses. As many as 70 superintendents and assistant superintendents at nearly 100 NYCHA buildings allegedly demanded over $2 million in bribery money from contractors collectively in exchange for $13 million in work, according to charges unsealed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the action marks the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department. Williams said 66 of the 70 defendants were arrested this morning.
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NYCHA says it needs nearly $80 billion for repairs

Image via WikiCommons

July 13, 2023

NYCHA says it needs nearly $80 billion for repairs

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New York City's public housing agency needs more than $78 billion to make much-needed repairs to its dilapidated housing stock, according to a new 20-year assessment released Wednesday. The estimation for the apartment repairs is a whopping 73 percent higher than NYCHA's last assessment of $45.2 billion calculated in 2017. According to the agency, nearly 40 percent of NYCHA apartments require more than $500,000 in work per unit.
Details here
NYC to demolish and rebuild two NYCHA complexes in Chelsea

Photo of the Fulton Houses complex courtesy of Elvert Barnes on Flickr

June 21, 2023

NYC to demolish and rebuild two NYCHA complexes in Chelsea

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New York City will demolish two Manhattan public housing complexes and construct brand-new high-rise apartment buildings. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) on Wednesday announced a $1.5 billion plan to demolish the Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton Houses and rebuild the more than 2,000 public housing apartments currently located there. Supported by a majority of tenants who voted in a survey on the proposal, the plan also includes new retail and commercial spaces and thousands of new mixed-income units, as first reported by the New York Times.
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Daniel Libeskind’s affordable Bed-Stuy rental opens lottery for 99 senior apartments

Rendering of the Atrium at Sumner © 2019 New York City Housing Authority

April 6, 2023

Daniel Libeskind’s affordable Bed-Stuy rental opens lottery for 99 senior apartments

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Applications are now being accepted for 99 apartments at a unique senior housing development in Brooklyn designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Located at 57 Marcus Garvey Boulevard, the Atrium at Sumner is an 11-story, Passive House-certified building with 190 affordable units and 7,500 square feet of community space. Applicants must have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older, qualifies for Section 8 benefits, and earns no more than $60,050 annually. Eligible New Yorkers will pay 30 percent of their income for the available studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify
NYC Council Speaker revives plan to build new homes on open NYCHA land

NYCHA LaGuardia Houses; Photo via Wikimedia

March 9, 2023

NYC Council Speaker revives plan to build new homes on open NYCHA land

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A New York City official is reviving a plan to turn the green spaces on public housing complexes into homes. In her State of the City address on Wednesday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams proposed the construction of new apartment buildings on existing open spaces, known as "infill development," within New York City Housing Authority properties. Adams said her proposal would help address the city's housing crisis and provide current public housing tenants with an opportunity to relocate into upgraded, modern housing units.
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NYC nixes $157M ‘Internet Master Plan’ for universal public broadband access

Image via WikiCommons

December 6, 2022

NYC nixes $157M ‘Internet Master Plan’ for universal public broadband access

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Nearly three years ago, Bill de Blasio's administration announced the Internet Master Plan, which would build municipal broadband infrastructure in poor neighborhoods. Under the plan, a collection of internet service providers would make use of the city's own infrastructure–rooftops and utility poles, for example–to offer fiber optic networks to underserved zones. NYCHA buildings would also get wired under the plan, guaranteeing residents of the city's public housing developments affordable high-speed internet access. The city was prepared to spend $157 million on the plan. Now, after being put on hold when Mayor Eric Adams took office, the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) has confirmed that the plan is officially off the table, Gothamist reports.
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NYC will provide free high-speed internet and cable to most NYCHA tenants

Image via WikiCommons

September 20, 2022

NYC will provide free high-speed internet and cable to most NYCHA tenants

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Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced the launch of "Big Apple Connect," a program that will provide free high-speed internet and cable television to roughly 300,000 New Yorkers living in more than 200 of the city's public housing developments by the end of next year. The program is the result of a partnership between the city's Office of Technology and Innovation and Optimum.
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NYC clears water for drinking at the Jacob Riis Houses after false alarm over arsenic results

Photo courtesy of edenpictures on Flickr

September 12, 2022

NYC clears water for drinking at the Jacob Riis Houses after false alarm over arsenic results

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Positive test results showing dangerous levels of arsenic in an East Village public housing complex were false. Environmental Monitoring and Technologies Inc., the testing firm that originally reported unsafe levels of arsenic at the Jacob Riis Houses, said there had been "trace levels" of arsenic introduced into the original testing samples analyzed on August 26, resulting in a false positive test, as Gothamist reported. The city on Saturday announced the tap water was cleared for drinking following new tests of the original water sample.
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Investigation underway after arsenic is found in water at East Village public housing complex

Image courtesy of edenpictures on Flickr

September 6, 2022

Investigation underway after arsenic is found in water at East Village public housing complex

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Residents of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village may have been exposed to water with dangerous levels of arsenic for more than a week without being notified by the city's public housing authority (NYCHA) until last Friday, as first reported by the non-profit news site, The City. While recent tests indicate there are no longer high levels of arsenic in the water, the public housing complex's roughly 2,600 residents still lack clean water. The federal monitor overseeing NYCHA opened an investigation this past weekend into the agency's actions surrounding the test results.
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New York will invest $70M to ‘decarbonize’ NYCHA

Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement to install 30,000 new heat pumps at NYCHA buildings at the Woodside Houses in Queens; Photo courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office on Flickr

August 3, 2022

New York will invest $70M to ‘decarbonize’ NYCHA

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A new investment by the state aims to make New York City public housing more environmentally friendly and effective for tenants. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced an initial investment of $70 million in a clean energy initiative to install 30,000 new heat pumps, considered more eco-friendly than traditional units, at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings across the city. The investment is part of the state's Clean Heat for All Challenge, which launched in 2021 to spur ideas on how to revamp the way NYCHA units are heated and cooled.
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State lawmakers approve new public trust that could fund repairs at 25,000 NYCHA apartments

photo via Wikimedia

June 6, 2022

State lawmakers approve new public trust that could fund repairs at 25,000 NYCHA apartments

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New York state legislators last week passed legislation that would allow the New York City Housing Authority to raise billions of dollars for desperately needed repairs at 25,000 apartments in the system. Championed by Mayor Eric Adams and proposed by public housing authority chair Gregory Russ, the Public Housing Preservation Trust is seen as a rescue measure for funding needed for the NYCHA system–by far the nation's largest public housing authority. The new public trust could raise billions of dollars to upgrade thousands of units, The City reports.
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New York City’s housing experts have a wish list for Mayor Adams

Mayor Eric Adams announces his housing leadership team in the rotunda at City Hall on Sunday, January 30, 2022. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via Flickr.

February 14, 2022

New York City’s housing experts have a wish list for Mayor Adams

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Shortly after taking office last month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams introduced the team that will take the lead on affordable housing strategy, headed by Jessica Katz as the city’s chief housing officer. The announcement came not a moment too soon; rents and home prices continue to rise beyond the reach of many, while homelessness and eviction threats are a growing concern. In a city where the topic of housing is never far from view every day, New Yorkers are looking to the new mayor to address the issues they feel must change. 6sqft asked individuals and organizations involved in the city's housing and real estate sectors to offer an important "wish list" item they would like to see Adams address during his time in office.
A housing wish list from NYC to Mayor Adams, this way
Everything you need to know about affordable housing: applying, getting in, and staying put

Photo by mari small on Unsplash

July 15, 2021

Everything you need to know about affordable housing: applying, getting in, and staying put

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Affordable housing has long been a topic at the forefront of NYC politics, but it gained even more attention with Mayor de Blasio's plan to preserve or build 300,000 affordable units by 2026, which has resulted in a slew of new lotteries, a new more user-friendly web portal, and an update to ease the process for immigrants and low-income New Yorkers. But the topic is not without its issues, especially with the city reeling in the wake of the pandemic. Many still wonder if the city is doing enough for affordability and if some of the available units are really affordable. Ahead, we break down the different types of affordable housing programs, how you can qualify and apply, and what happens if and when you get in.
Everything you need to know about affordable housing
How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

Photo by Gage Skidmore on Flickr

January 20, 2021

How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

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After Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, his immediate focus will be getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and providing direct relief to Americans. In addition to immediate actions related to COVID-19, Biden's Day 1 housing priorities include extending the federal nationwide moratorium on residential evictions through the end of September and sending an additional $25 billion in rental assistance to states. Down the road, Biden has proposed fewer developer-friendly policies than his predecessor, including a repeal of the 1031 exchange and reform of the Opportunity Zone tax program. But overall, there is optimism among New York City real estate industry experts who see a Biden Administration as a way to restore stability and consumer confidence. With a pledge to defeat COVID-19 and send federal support to New York City, there's hope on the horizon for the city's recovery.
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De Blasio announces more testing and supplies for NYCHA residents, support for seniors

Photo of the Alfred E. Smith Houses by Ken Lund on Flickr

April 22, 2020

De Blasio announces more testing and supplies for NYCHA residents, support for seniors

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Six new coronavirus testing sites with a priority for residents of the city's public housing system will open starting this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. Community testing sites will open on Friday in Fort Greene, Mott Haven, and on the Lower East Side, with three additional sites opening next week at New York City Housing Authority buildings, including Jonathan Williams Houses, Woodside Houses, and St. Nicholas Houses. The news comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this week a pilot program to bring on-site health services and more testing to NYCHA residents, beginning with eight developments across the five boroughs.
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