The probe is the third done at the request of public housing tenants who serve on the comptroller’s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee, in response to “complaints of a lack of transparency” about how funds are being doled out.
An out-of-service elevator at NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses in 2023. (Photo by Adi Talwar)
The NYC Comptroller’s Office will investigate how city funding for NYCHA is being doled out on capital projects—at the request of tenants who complained about “a lack of transparency” in how such funding is allocated, officials announced Thursday.
The probe is the third selected by public housing tenants who serve on the comptroller’s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee, and will examine the $3.18 billion in city money included the housing authority’s capital plan for fiscal years 2024-2028, which funds infrastructure upgrades and major repairs.
The audit will focus on what projects get earmarked for city funds, how NYCHA determined those allocations and what has been spent so far, Comptroller Brad Lander said in a press release.
“With delayed repairs and services comes increased scrutiny of how NYCHA is allocating and spending their money. Fortunately, NYCHA put forth a very detailed four-year Capital Plan that my office can dig into and assess if NYCHA is delivering for their tenants,” Lander, who is currently running for mayor, said in a statement.
The housing authority says it needs more than $78 billion to address outstanding repair needs across its developments over the next two decades.
Rev. Carmen Hernandez, a longtime tenant at NYCHA’s 1471-73 Watson Ave. who heads the resident council there and serves on the comptroller’s audit committee, said they want more clarity around how city funds are spent.
“We want to have transparency,” Hernandez said. “Each development should know where the money that’s coming to their development [is] and [what’s to] be fixed.”
She described filing work order tickets for repairs that get closed without fixes at her development, which she said has deteriorating brick work as well as mold and leaks.
Officials are currently negotiating the city’s budget for the next fiscal year that starts July 1, including resources for NYCHA, which is facing the possibility of dramatic federal funding cuts from the Trump administration.
At a City Council budget hearing last week, Shaan Mavani, NYCHA’s chief asset and capital management officer, said the housing authority weighs a number of factors when deciding how to allocate funds, including whether the money might be earmarked for specific purposes or programs. NYCHA is also under a federal monitorship that requires improvements in specific areas like heating, elevators, mold, leaks, and lead abatement.
“As we allocate funding, we look at a number of different data sources,” Mavani said. “The conditions of each site, the physical conditions, but also how much repairs we’re doing, how many work tickets residents are putting in, the type of repairs.”
The comptroller’s office said the findings of the upcoming audit should be complete by mid-to-late 2026.
Earlier investigations selected by the Comptroller’s NYCHA Resident Audit Committee looked into the housing authority’s repair processes, as well as how evictions are being carried out.
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