Ben Carson announces HUD's partial oversight of NYCHA
NEW YORK (WABC) -- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson traveled to New York City to sign an agreement with Mayor Bill de Blasio regarding plans for HUD to appoint a powerful federal monitor to closely oversee the city's Housing Authority.
This agreement with the city was reached on a deadline day set by a federal judge, who threw out their previous deal.
The agreement does not include a federal takeover of NYCHA, which has been threatened by HUD in the past. Instead, a federal monitor selected by HUD will supervise NYCHA's activities.
Under the agreement, the city must commit at least $2.2 billion in funding over the next 10 years to NYCHA reform and meet progress milestone deadlines set by HUD. Housing Authority Chair Stanley Brezenoff, appointed by Mayor de Blasio, will also step down as part of the deal.
In his address to the media, Carson cited lead, mold, vermin, heating and other issues as the reasons for HUD's intervention.
"We (de Blasio) were able to put aside any political differences and think about what would provide the right kind of environment for the people here ... I think it sets a great precedent for what can be done around the county," he said.
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Original reports indicated that de Blasio would not attend the announcement at HUD's Lower Manhattan office, but the mayor nonetheless signed the agreement with Carson. He called the agreement "cooperative and constructive."
City Comptroller Scott Stringer, however, implied in a statement that the federal government should focus on funding NYCHA repairs rather than appointing monitors.
"Now they want a monitor? NYCHA already has monitors -- its residents who have suffered from decades of disinvestment," he said. "They're the parents who sought help when their child got lead poisoning. The grandmother who has to huddle near a stove when it's colder inside her apartment than outside. And the family dealing with health issues because of rampant mold in their home."
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