Yorkville NYCHA Tenants Vote Against NYCHA-Favored Funding Switch

The residents of a Yorkville public housing complex voted to reject the adoption of a new management model pushed by NYCHA itself last month, instead choosing to stick with Section 9 federal funding. It was the first vote of its kind in Manhattan, and the eighth citywide.

Specifically, Isaacs Houses residents on East 93rd Street voted against joining either the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust or the RAD-PACT Program. In the final tally, 309 out of 526 eligible voters expressed their desire to maintain the status quo. The 50-day vote process was overseen by MK Elections Services.

A total of 209 voters voted to pivot towards the Trust, while a meager 12 pitched for RAD-PACT. The latter would have involved bringing in a private landlord to manage the Isaacs Houses, which would still be owned by NYCHA. Both involve Section 8 subsidies.

Residents who publicly backed leaving things unchanged, such as “Save Section 9” campaigner Sandra Coleman, expressed fear that any switch could provide a backdoor to higher eviction rates or further privatization.

The vote count for switching to RAD-PACT remained utterly unchanged between an early vote count in mid-March and the final tally on March 24, while the Preservation Trust grew relatively more competitive, after starting out at a count of only 80 votes.

The Trust model has been heavily promoted by NYCHA itself. It was created in 2022 as a public benefit corporation that can issue floating bonds for outstanding NYCHA repairs, which NYCHA itself can’t do.

Currently, Section 8 subsidies provide more funding on balance than Section 9 does—due to federal spending decisions—which NYCHA cites as one reason for its support of the Trust model. After the Isaacs Houses vote, the agency issued a statement expressing measured disappointment.

“While the option [residents] selected will not unlock the necessary funding to complete comprehensive renovations to the development, we are resolute in our dedication and service to all of the residents who call Isaacs home,” NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt said.

CIty Hall appears to have been pulling for a switch to the Trust, too, as a statement by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Borzog made clear.

“Five hundred and twenty-six out of 869 eligible Isaacs Houses residents made their voices heard in this election,” she said. “Of those, 309 voters chose to remain in the Section 9 funding system rather than convert to the more stable Section 8 system with a path to comprehensive renovations.”

“I appreciate all who came out to participate in a decision that impacts the future of their community–resident voices must remain at the center of our work to deliver for NYCHA residents,” Borzog added.

NYCHA would have remained the permanent owner of the Isaacs Houses under the Trust arrangement, but would have entered into a ground-lease arrangement with the Trust.

Both the Housing Preservation Trust and RAD-PACT involve leveraging said Section 8 funding, which provides repair subsidies to specific apartments (hence “project-based”), such as those in the Isaacs Houses. Longstanding Section 9 funding, meanwhile, involves providing direct federal funding to public housing authorities such as NYCHA.

The Housing Preservation Trust, as a technically separate entity from NYHCA, can unlock Section 8 via the aforementioned lease arrangement. RAD-PACT does so through private management.

If the Isaacs Houses residents had voted to make the switch to the Trust, certain unions who maintain a project agreement with NYCHA would have made repairs to the building.

Under RAD-PACT, non-union labor could have been hired to do so. Plumbers Local 1 and the District Council of Carpenters canvassed at the public housing complex in late Jan., as the vote was ongoing, encouraging residents to vote for the Trust.