NYCHA finishes $636 million overhaul of 1,696 East Brooklyn apartments, but tenants are already reporting problems

Nearly 3,000 public housing residents in East Brooklyn are now living in renovated apartments after NYCHA and its private partners finished a $636 million overhaul of the Reid & Park Rock developments, the housing authority announced. But some tenants say the new finishes are already failing, Gothamist reported Monday.

What was done

The project modernized 1,696 apartments in 87 buildings across 15 NYCHA developments, according to the NYCHA announcement. Every apartment got upgraded kitchens and bathrooms, new floors, appliances and fixtures. The buildings got modernized heating and ventilation, restored facades, new access control and lighting, elevator upgrades and accessibility improvements, plus new lobbies, storefronts and community spaces and free Wi-Fi across the campus.

The 15 developments include Reid Apartments, Rutland Towers, Fenimore-Lefferts, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Howard Avenue, Howard Avenue-Park Place, Park Rock Rehab, Ralph Avenue Rehab and the Sterling Place rehabs, NYCHA said. The work was done under the PACT program, which moves buildings from traditional public housing funding to project-based Section 8 so private partners can borrow for repairs and then manage the properties. Here the team was Fairstead, BRP Companies, Urbane and the Local Development Corporation of East New York. Residents also picked their own social services provider, Black Veterans for Social Justice, a first for a completed PACT project, according to NYCHA.

What tenants say

Shamica Moore, president of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville tenant association, praised the investment at the ribbon cutting. But she told Gothamist her neighbors have complained about misaligned blinds, closet doors coming off their hinges, chipping paint, new smoke alarms going off for no reason and floor tiles that bubble up. She said she would have liked a longer on-site presence and more follow-up inspections. Construction lasted three years in her development, and she said it worsened her son's asthma.

More than 40% of Reid & Park Rock residents had to move temporarily into another apartment while their own was renovated, NYCHA press secretary Michael Horgan told Gothamist. The management company said in a statement that it is accountable for the homes after construction and will address wear and tear.

If you live there

NYCHA told Gothamist that residents should report problems to their management company as soon as they appear, and that the agency oversees PACT properties through site visits and monitoring.

The bigger picture

The renovation is a small slice of NYCHA's needs. Chief real estate officer Heather Beck told Gothamist the authority faces about $80 billion in needed repairs. NYCHA says 170 developments with more than 45,700 apartments are in PACT pre-development, construction or completed, representing nearly $17 billion in repairs, and it wants to bring 62,000 apartments into the program.