That controversial prison-themed playground at the Tompkins Houses in Bed-Stuy has been there for six years, but has only just now caused enough outrage to get some press and set a change into motion. more ›

Yesterday, the New York City Housing Authority revoked over 3,000 Section 8 vouchers, citing "Congress, a lower-than-usual attrition rate in the program and unprecedented demand." This means that thousands of families may try to enter the city's already overflowing shelters. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg appointed a former Wall Street investment banker to head the troubled NYC Housing Authority. The NYCHA oversees over 177,000 apartments in 340 development in all five boroughs—the NY Times says this makes John Rhea, who used to work at Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan Chase, "in effect, the city’s biggest landlord." Bloomberg said, "John's experience makes him the perfect person to lead our efforts to create long-term financial stability at the Authority, and to ring in a new era of transparency and agency responsiveness to improving resident and community quality of life." However, some critics of the Bloomberg administration were upset with the pick: City Councilwoman Letitia James issued a statement questioning Rhea's lack of "experience in managing a low-income public housing authority of this size and scale...particularly at a time when private equity firms are purchasing under-performing housing developments, and converting them to luxury housing throughout the City" while Councilwoman Rosie Mendez told the Times, "All I see is a Wall Street person with an investment banking background and with no experience in housing management or development." more ›

The NYC Housing Authority's decision to ban dogs over 25 pounds and certain breeds, including pit bulls, Doberman pinschers, and Rotterwilers—and Boston terriers and Shar Peis (puppy pictured)— has relieved some while riled up others. A LaGuardia Houses resident and owner of a miniature Doberman told the NY Times, "I think it’s great. In my building there’s a pit bull. He looks at Dobie like he wants to eat him," but others say it's "dog profiling that unfairly singles out three entire breeds and treats owners of those dogs as potential problem tenants." The ASPCA said the policy "discriminates against responsible dog guardians on both counts," and the American Kennel Club notes the City Council acknowledged (in Admin. Code Section 27-2009.1) pets are kept "for reasons of safety and companionship." The AKC says dogs passing its Canine Good Citizen program should be able to stay and offers to help "develop a model pet policy." The list of banned breeds is here (PDF, p. 11). Also, all dogs in NY State are supposed to be licensed and all dogs in NYC must wear their licenses when in public. more ›

After numerous reports of unsafe elevators in the NYC Housing Authority, the NYCHA official in charge of elevator safety is resigning this week. Many NYCHA residents, including the elderly and disabled, have to put up with non-functioning, even dangerous elevators in their complexes; over the summer, a child fell to his death when trying to escape an elevator that stopped between floors. The NYCHA promised to improve elevator repair and maintenance, but the City Council remained skeptical and recently NYCHA chairman Tino Hernandez announced his resignation. Elevator safety official Charles Miraglia will reportedly pursue work in the private sector, which is something he also did on the side (with permission) while working for the NYCHA. more ›

A study from NYU says that children in public housing are "more likely to drop out of high school and less likely to graduate in four years than those who do not live in public housing," the NY Times reports. You can read the policy brief (PDF) from the Furman Center. One hypothesis suggests the lack of resources and role models students from public housing have might be to blame, but the study its data "do not allow us to isolate the reason for the disparity" and "we do not claim that living in NYCHA housing causes students to perform differently from students living in other housing." And the NYC Housing Authority tells the Times the agency has "serious concerns and reservations" about the study, adding its data is "limited, dated and incomplete." more ›

A day after the city announced it would spend $112 million to improve elevators in public housing, a woman fell 10-12 feet down an empty elevator at the East River Houses in East Harlem. Jolanda Joyce, 28, told NY1 said, "I turned around to get my phone from a friend and I opened the elevator door and I took a step and I just fell. There was no elevator there." She also said to the Daily News, "I just didn't want the elevator to come down and kill me." Joyce has severe bruising all over her body and will need physical therapy; NY1 also notes her claim is being investigated: "Sources also cited witnesses who observed Joyce and her companion forcibly opening the elevator doors when the elevator was not present." The NYC Housing Authority refused to release the building's elevator maintenance records. In August, a 5-year-old trying to escape a stalled public housing elevator fell to his death. more ›