Fun fact about the New York City Housing Authority: A $2 million graft scam barely touches the surface of its multibillion-dollar dysfunction.<\/p>\n
The conviction in federal court of 70 NYCHA employees in this bribery and fraud scheme<\/a> is good news, but the troubles plaguing the city\u2019s massive public housing complex<\/a> are deep and tangled beyond all measure.<\/p>\n This kickback scandal centers only on small projects that building superintendents can contract without competitive bidding; meanwhile, NYCHA needs at least $80 billion to address its major repair backlogs, with little sign of where the cash can from.<\/p>\n Even modest fixes take months or years: an average of 412 days to repair a NYCHA intercom, nearly 600 days for a painter to complete a NYCHA paint job.<\/p>\n No wonder the agency faces 612,000 open work orders, or almost four per apartment \u2014 while no one\u2019s even talking about serious reforms to make worker productivity less laughable.<\/p>\n While the nation\u2019s largest public-housing authority remains under federal monitorship after the 2019 lead, mold and heat scandals, it still uses contractors seen \u201cremediating\u201d black mold by just coating it in thin layers of plaster.<\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPost Editorial Board<\/p>\n The only real hope is the steady transfer of project to private management under President Barack Obama\u2019s Rental Assistance Demonstration <\/a>program \u2014 yet lefty activists and \u201cstakeholders\u201d (like the workers who can\u2019t get repairs done in a timely manner) fight every RAD conversion tooth and nail.<\/p>\n