Andrew Cuomo Unveils Ambitious $2.5 Billion NYCHA Revitalization Plan to Modernize Public Housing
Our public housing residents are frontline workers, retirees, veterans, and young people trying to build a future. As mayor, I won’t just manage the crisis, we will deliver the investments, partnerships, and accountability needed to restore NYCHA.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for mayor of New York City, today announced a multi-pronged plan to rescue the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) from decades of disrepair, disinvestment, and disillusionment. The plan proposes $2.5 billion in new capital over five years—a 75% increase from current City funding while fundamentally reforming NYCHA’s management and maintenance.
“NYCHA is the foundation of affordable housing in New York City, and we’ve let it crumble for far too long,” Governor Cuomo said. “This isn’t just about bricks and mortar — it’s about justice, safety, and dignity. When a mother has to raise her children in an apartment with no heat, when a senior waits weeks for a basic repair, when families are forced to live with mold, leaks, or broken elevators, that’s not just a failure of government — it’s a moral failure. Our public housing residents are frontline workers, retirees, veterans, and young people trying to build a future. As mayor, I won’t just manage the crisis, we will deliver the investments, partnerships, and accountability needed to restore NYCHA, not just as housing, but as a symbol of equity and progress. We owe our residents nothing less.”
The plan takes a dual-pronged approach. First, it drives a major wave of renovation and redevelopment across NYCHA properties through a substantial increase in City capital investment, expanded use of PACT and Preservation Trust conversions guided by resident input, and strategic Section 9 capital projects. Together, these efforts will aim to fully renovate tens of thousands of NYCHA apartments over the next four years and upgrade critical building systems long overdue for repair.
Second, it focuses on improving the day-to-day quality of life for NYCHA residents. This includes streamlining operations to ensure timely repairs, enhancing safety across campuses, expanding access to non-residential services such as local retail, integrating health care providers adjacent to NYCHA sites, and addressing the digital divide by bringing broadband access and computer labs to community centers. These investments aim to make NYCHA not just livable, but a place where residents can thrive.
A Crisis and an Opportunity
NYCHA’s 335 developments across five boroughs currently face a $200 million annual operating deficit starting in 2026, compounded by a capital shortfall of over $78 billion as of 2023. The Trump administration’s proposed 42% federal cut to housing assistance funding could devastate operations. Yet, NYCHA also controls 2,400 acres of land—the second-largest landholder in the city and as mayor, Cuomo will harness the opportunity to reinvest and rebuild public housing.
A Vision of Equity and Dignity
Cuomo’s plan emphasizes resident engagement, union consultation, and Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) participation. It outlines partnerships with NYC’s corporate, philanthropic, and healthcare sectors to bring innovation, equity, and economic mobility to public housing communities.
Key Proposals Include:
- $2.5 Billion in New Capital for Renovation & Redevelopment: A 75% increase in New York City’s capital investment, accelerating housing upgrades through programs like PACT, the Preservation Trust, and Section 9 Comprehensive Modernization.
- Strategic RAD Conversions: Expansion of RAD/PACT and Preservation Trust programs to unlock federal Section 8 funds and enable large-scale overhauls of aging developments.
- Redevelopment of Underutilized NYCHA Land: Pursue affordable and mixed-income housing construction on NYCHA campuses with resident input and workforce housing priorities, starting with projects like Fulton and Chelsea-Elliott Houses in Manhattan.
- Governance Reform & Management Decentralization: Expansion of the “Neighborhood Model” to empower local property managers and resident leaders with budget and repair authority for faster service and greater accountability.
- Public Safety Investment: New lighting, security cameras, front door upgrades, and reassessment of NYPD Housing Bureau staffing to address chronic safety concerns voiced by residents.
- Retail & Health Services in Vacant Ground Floors: Reform NYCHA’s market rent standard to bring grocers, healthcare, childcare, and small business hubs back to public housing campuses.
- Green Open Space Improvements: Public-private partnerships to transform underused outdoor spaces into parks, fitness zones, and community gardens, improving health and quality of life.
- Bridging the Digital Divide: Universal broadband, computer labs, and workforce development initiatives targeting green jobs and AI industries.
As Governor, Andrew Cuomo spearheaded actions to impose greater accountability and management at NYCHA to improve living conditions for tenants. Following a wave of scandals at NYCHA in 2018, Cuomo prompted a landmark agreement between New York City, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and HUD that committed the city to invest $2.2 billion in capital repairs over 10 years. Cuomo also directed state emergency response agencies to provide immediate assistance at NYCHA sites suffering from heating and maintenance failures, and when bureaucratic inertia threatened to stall progress, Cuomo brought in state inspectors, engineers, and public health officials to cut through red tape and stabilize conditions. The Cuomo administration also launched major funding initiatives like “House NY” an initiative that injected $1 billion to preserve housing, championed an unprecedented $20 billion housing plan, negotiated Rent Law renewals in 2011 and 2015 that strengthened tenant protections, enacted the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative in 2016, signed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, and partnered with local governments and nonprofits to address homelessness.
Governor Cuomo’s commitment to housing and addressing homelessness dates back decades. In his 20s, he created the homelessness organization HELP, which continues to be one of the largest homelessness services providers in New York City. In 1991, then-Mayor David Dinkins appointed him as the chair of the Commission on the Homeless, which culminated in a 1992 report titled, "The Way Home: A New Direction in Social Policy." As Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development beginning in 1993, he developed the Continuum of Care strategy, a comprehensive approach designed to help homeless individuals achieve self-sufficiency, which received the prestigious Innovation in American Government award from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Business. As HUD Secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001, he focused on a range of housing, anti-poverty, and urban development initiatives.
Details on Cuomo's NYCHA Plan Available Here
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