NYCHA Operations: Which Model is Best? A Study of Business Models and Resident Impacts

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the largest public housing authority in North America. NYCHA’s mission is to provide quality housing for New Yorkers that is sustainable, inclusive, and safe, while fostering opportunities for economic mobility. NYCHA serves 312,422 residents in 177,569 apartments across 335 conventional public housing and PACT developments. Through federal rent subsidies (the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program), NYCHA also provides rental subsidies to 102,022 residents so they can rent apartments in the private market.

The objective of the project will be to create a research framework for comparing the long-term impacts of four models for NYCHA’s operations: 

1. Section 9: Traditional public housing is funded by Section 9 and operates under NYCHA's longstanding, current operating model that is used to manage severely degraded buildings.
2. Comp Mod: This program involves full rehabilitation of the properties, but the operations are still funded by Section 9 under NYCHA's current operating model, which is used to manage newly rehabilitated buildings.
3. NY Housing Preservation Trust: This program is funded by Section 8 and the sites will be rehabilitated.  The operations model reflects an enhanced operating model due to additional funding from Section 8.
4. PACT: This program is funded by Section 8 and the sites are rehabilitated. Private/nonprofit development partners (non-NYCHA) manage the newly rehabilitated buildings.