January 2010

In January, Foundation grantee Community Voices Heard (CVH) released a report finding that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is violating federal regulations that ensure affordable housing residents’ participation in policymaking. Two of the most egregious violations reported are the mismanagement of over $20 million in funds earmarked for resident participation activities and making the decision to demolish a Brooklyn development without holding a public hearing. Making matters worse, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is failing to provide the appropriate oversight to ensure NYCHA’s compliance with these regulations. The report found that although there is an official resident participation system, a majority of residents are neither participating in the system nor receiving critical information on NYCHA policies from it, leaving residents with no formal decision-making power. The report calls for a strengthening of current policy, implementation, and enforcement, including resident control of adequate resources to build their capacity to develop meaningful and democratic participation. The executive summary, full report, and other related documents are available here .