Gothamist: January 27, 2022, Private Management Of Public Housing Led To Erosion Of Tenants’ Rights, Report Finds
Five years after the New York City Housing Authority turned over thousands of public housing apartments to for-profit operators, tenants living in the privately-run developments in Queens and the Bronx were evicted at an average rate that was three times higher than under authority management, according to a report released Thursday, prompting a promise of greater oversight.
Out of the six public housing complexes that NYCHA outsourced to private companies to manage between December 2016 and February of 2020, removal of tenants in the two large developments “significantly” increased after the takeover, according to the report by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
Newly elected Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who took over this month as chair of the City’s Council’s Committee on Public Housing, which oversees NYCHA, called the report’s findings alarming and promised increased scrutiny.
