Congressman Dan Goldman Fights for NYCHA Tenants Left Out of Federal Rental Assistance Programs

American Rescue Plan Allocated $5 Billion for Program Providing Housing, Rental Assistance, and Temporary Shelter

Public Housing Residents Have Been Excluded from Disbursements from HOME-ARP Program, Abandoning Tens of Thousands of Vulnerable New Yorkers

Read the Letter Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) and fellow members of the New York Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge requesting that HUD allow public housing tenants to benefit from rental assistance programs included in the American Rescue Plan that they have been unjustly excluded from. To date, tens of thousands of NYCHA residents have fallen behind on rental payments collectively owing half a billion dollars in rent arrears.

The American Rescue Plan allocated $5 billion for the HOME-ARP Program to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity “by assisting individuals or households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or otherwise vulnerable by providing housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, and temporary shelter.” Despite the urgent need for HOME-ARP funds in New York, HUD has yet to grant NYCHA approval to access the funds vital to securely housing their tenants.

“We have trouble understanding the reasons for HUD's reluctance. There is no language in HOME-ARP's underlying statute that justifies denying public housing tenants the same access to tenant-based rental assistance that has been made available to private housing tenants,” the lawmakers wrote. “As Members of Congress from New York City, which is home to the largest public housing portfolio in the country, we never voted and would never vote to enact a law that singles out public housing tenants for exclusion from tenant-based rental assistance. What we are seeking from HUD is not special treatment but equal treatment of public housing residents under the HOME-ARP program, which was designed to assist every type of tenant in need.”

Earlier this year, Congressman Goldman also led his colleagues in calling on Congress to require HUD to abide by the statutory language in the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 to save NYCHA hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years. The 1998 Act states that “a public housing agency shall receive the full financial benefit from any reduction in the cost of utilities or waste management resulting from any contract with a third party.” The letter to the Appropriations Committee also directs that the savings be used by NYCHA to address potentially life-threatening harm to public housing residents, including loss of heat in winter, loss of air conditioning in summer, lead, mold, broken elevators and locks, and more.

Additionally, Congressman Goldman led his colleagues in the New York delegation to urge HUD directly on the issue and calling on them to comply with federal law and reverse course on regulations that shortchange Public Housing Authorities like NYCHA by preventing them from receiving the full financial benefit of their negotiated savings from utility companies.

NYCHA is the country’s largest Public Housing Authority, serving nearly 340,000 residents in over 160,000 apartments. New York’s 10th Congressional District is home to 31 New York City Housing Authority developments with over 35,000 residents.

As one of his first acts in the House of Representatives, Congressman Goldman, along with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), introduced the Public Housing Emergency Response Act. This bill would allocate $70 billion in funding for capital repairs and upgrades to public housing throughout the country. $32 billion of the allotted aid would be expected to flow directly to NYCHA.

Read the letter here and below:

Dear Secretary Fudge:

We are writing to respectfully request that HUD authorize the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to access HOME-ARP funding in order to provide rental arrears assistance to NYCHA residents who have been put at risk of homelessness or otherwise rendered vulnerable by COVID-19.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) allocates $5 billion for the HOME program in order to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity “by assisting individuals or households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or otherwise vulnerable by providing housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, and temporary shelter.” NYCHA has tens of thousands of residents who have fallen behind on rent and who therefore require the “tenant-based rental assistance” that the HOME-ARP program expressly envisions for those "at risk of homelessness."

Tenants who are “at risk of homelessness” or “otherwise vulnerable” should be eligible for funding under HOME-ARP, regardless of where those tenants reside, be it in public housing or private housing. The COVID shock to NYCHA has been so extreme that NYCHA tenants have accumulated half a billion dollars in rent arrears—a deeply destabilizing development for the country’s largest provider of affordable housing.

Despite the urgent and unmistakable need for federal assistance, HUD has been reluctant to grant NYCHA the approval it needs to access the HOME-ARP funds for NYC. Never mind that every housing policy maker in NYC—from the Mayor’s Office to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development—has affirmed that tenant-based rental assistance for NYCHA tenants ought to be the highest priority for HOME-ARP funds in NYC. The will of NYC’s local government has fallen on deaf ears.

We have trouble understanding the reasons for HUD's reluctance. There is no language in HOME-ARP's underlying statute that justifies denying public housing tenants the same access to tenant-based rental assistance that has been made available to private housing tenants. As Members of Congress from New York City, which is home to the largest public housing portfolio in the country, we never voted and would never vote to enact a law that singles out public housing tenants for exclusion from tenant-based rental assistance. What we are seeking from HUD is not special treatment but equal treatment of public housing residents under the HOME-ARP program, which was designed to assist every type of tenant in need.

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

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