De Blasio outlines NYCHA relief plan

NEW YORK - There is widespread agreement that NYCHA buildings are in need of relief and repairs, but the question is how to pay for it. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke exclusively to FOX 5 NY to outline a controversial plan that he believes will get residents at the Fulton Houses new apartments at the same rent.

“I believe in my heart of hearts, if we don’t do something different, public housing is just not going to be habitable,” De Blasio said.

The Fulton Houses in Chelsea are home to over 2,000 residents, sitting on some of the most valuable property in Manhattan. But conditions inside the buildings are so poor, it would likely take over $150M to fix them.

At the first working meeting with elected officials, non-profit groups and residents, Mayor De Blasio proposed a conversion plan to construct a new building for residents which would also include market rate renters. Once built, residents would be moved in there and the old one demolished. A private company would build it in a public/private partnership and renovate the other 10 buildings. 

“What we’re saying to people is that we’re guaranteeing something where you don’t have to move,” De Blasio said. “You don’t pay a different rent, but you do get a better quality apartment.”

Critics fear tearing down one building, even with residents moved in to a new one, opens the door to other demolition. 

De Blasio says that a management company would fully renovate all apartments and collect rents, but NYCHA would still own the property. 

The conversion plan has been done successfully in other cities, and in the Rockaways, but some NYCHA resident leaders say they are concerned about long-term stability and the very future of low income housing.