Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be in Sheepshead Bay as we mark the beginning of a new chapter for residents of Nostrand Houses and those in NYCHA developments across our city.
You know, before we begin, I would like to take a moment to speak about NYCHA maintenance supervisor Leighton Brown, who was tragically killed while working an extra shift during this past weekend storm. I am heartbroken. This is a loss that is painful beyond words for his loved ones, for his family, frankly, for all those who live and work at Cypress Hills Houses, and for our city as a whole.
He will be deeply missed. And if you are like me and have seen the videos that people have put forward of what he meant to them, his nickname of "Mr. Fix-It," you know that this was someone who was cherished, almost even considered as if a superhero in the neighborhood. And his legacy is one that he leaves to this city that all of us will strive to meet.
I also want to acknowledge here before we begin a number of leaders that we have alongside me, both inside and outside of City government. We have our deputy mayor, Leila Bozorg. We have our executive director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver. We have the Senate sponsor of the legislation that made this possible, State Senator Julia Salazar. We have our NYCHA CEO and trust board chair, Lisa Bova-Hiatt. We have the president of the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust, Vlada Kenniff. We have NYCHA board chair Jamie Rubin.
And we have representatives from our governor Kathy Hochul's office here with us. And we also want to acknowledge labor, as well as housing advocates that are here in the house. And a special shoutout to all residents of Nostrand Houses.
Now, when Fiorello La Guardia first proposed a citywide public housing system in 1934, the idea was unprecedented. It might seem fundamental now, but nearly a century ago, the concept of a city providing the people it served with decent, dignified housing was borderline revolutionary. It was an idealism that many deemed impossible, or, God forbid, radical.
And yet, by the 1960s, that idealism had taken shape as the largest and most ambitious public housing system in America, providing more than 500,000 New Yorkers with quality, affordable homes. But as the years progressed, the imagination and ambition that built our public housing system slowly withered into the past, and as those founding convictions were neglected, so too were the homes that NYCHA residents deserve.
Over the past decades, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers living in NYCHA have been forced to contend with a very different legacy, a legacy of disinvestment. They experience it each time a ceiling leaks in the rain, each time black mold grows as a result, each time an elevator sits out of service, and in every broken refrigerator and stove, cabinet and counter long left in disrepair.
This has taken more than a physical toll. It has also taken a psychological one. NYCHA residents have come to expect that when they ask for help from their government, their government will look the other way. Those in power will determine that the scale of their need is too vast. Those with the ability to deliver change will say that NYCHA residents are not worth the effort.
My friends, today we come together to start to bring that legacy of neglect to an end. Today, we mark a major milestone on the path to a new era for NYCHA: the first-ever financial closing of a $610 million modernization project done with the NYCHA Preservation Trust right here at Nostrand Houses.
And I just want to also acknowledge - we can have a round of applause for all of the staff that worked on this tirelessly. They worked on this so well that we actually had to steal a couple of them to work in City Hall.
Now, the Preservation Trust is 100 percent public. Its actions will be guided by residents' input at every step of the way. When residents vote to participate in the trust, as they did here at Nostrand Houses, they unlock more than 10 times the amount of public funding to deliver the improvements they have long waited for. Throughout the conversion, NYCHA will retain full ownership and management.
I want to commend the residents of Nostrand Houses, many of whom are here with us today, for their courage to do what no NYCHA tenants have ever done before: coming together to vote for a new future built on the same vision and determination that first defined our public housing system.
Beginning this fall, that vision will come to life. The design-build team, Community Modernization Group, will begin the full renovation and rehabilitation of 1,148 homes across 16 residential buildings. This will be a five-year, six-phase project. It will include repairs and upgrades to heating, hot water and plumbing; new elevators and electrical wiring; as well as major upgrades to security systems and expanded CCTV coverage.
The apartments where New Yorkers rest and relax, cook dinners for their loved ones, celebrate graduations, birthdays and holidays will be transformed as well.
Back in May, I had the privilege, alongside a number of leaders in City government, of touring a model unit here at Nostrand Houses for the upcoming conversion and seeing what that transformation really looks like. It looks like new appliances, quartz countertops, scratch-resistant flooring, double-pane windows and new intercom systems.
It looks like dedicated laundry hookups and heat pumps that keep residents warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And it looks like remediation for lead and mold and precautionary measures like mold-resistant paint finishes that will help residents stay safe and help residents to stay healthy.
This is just the beginning of our work to revitalize tens of thousands of NYCHA homes across the city via the Preservation Trust. All of this while delivering accountability and oversight at every step of the way.
And it is just one part of City Hall's broader commitment through our historic housing plan, Block by Block, to transform our public housing system with a $5.6 billion investment in NYCHA, the largest capital commitment in decades. Because longevity is the goal.
We will make sure these renovations last for decades to come. And as we do so, we will return to NYCHA's roots as a public developer. Not just repairing housing, but building the new, high-quality homes that will deliver even more New Yorkers lives of dignity.
The tenants of today deserve nothing less, as do the tenants of tomorrow. That is not a luxury. That is what government owes its people.
On Jan. 30, 1934 - just a little bit before I was born - the day that NYCHA was officially established, Fiorello La Guardia published an op-ed in Liberty Magazine. In it, he wrote, "I have been accused of being an idealist in this matter; I propose to go right on with my idealism. Further, I know now our ideals can be brought to reality."
Today, we too are going right on with our idealism, and we do so guided by the knowledge that our ideals can and will be brought to reality. Thank you so much.
Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg, Housing and Planning: Thank you, mayor. You all, it is so great to be here today with so many partners from across the city, from across administration, from the neighborhood and community, and seeing all the residents here at Nostrand Houses in particular. My name's Leila Bozorg. I have the pleasure of serving as the deputy mayor for Housing and Planning and your emcee for today.
As the mayor mentioned, earlier this year we put out our comprehensive housing plan, Block by Block, and it lays out what we call this all-of-the-above approach to addressing our housing work in our housing crisis: creating new housing, preserving housing, protecting tenants and residents across the city. And, of course, a huge part of it is about investing in public housing.
NYCHA plays a central role in our housing plan, not just because NYCHA families deserve long-needed repairs, which we know they do, but because we recognize the immense responsibility we have as an administration to finally put City Hall's attention and resources towards making lasting, meaningful and impactful change that will serve NYCHA residents for generations and generations to come.
Now, our plan lays out a number of strategies that we hope to employ with NYCHA, things the mayor mentioned, like rebooting its role as a public developer or using its scale or size for innovation. But today we're here to celebrate one of the most promising new models that will help us tackle one of the most urgent issues facing our city, and that's NYCHA's capital needs.
Most people know that NYCHA and our important public housing have faced federal disinvestment for decades. But administration after administration have stood by and pointed fingers at whose fault it is, letting issues fester and linger until they've become the daunting, significant $78 billion backlog that we are now confronting today.
But that's no more. This year, our administration made the largest city capital investment in NYCHA in recent history. And we have much more to do in the years ahead.
And looking towards that future is where the Public Housing Preservation Trust comes in. Through the Preservation Trust, we are able to receive about double the amount of federal subsidy for the same amount of housing as NYCHA would otherwise receive. Plus, the trust has more flexibility in using that money to leverage even more investment for renovations.
That math is at the core of the $610 million financial closing that we are celebrating today. Now, that number can seem abstract, but in practice it means new apartments for 2,000 neighbors across 16 buildings here at Nostrand Houses. Renovations down to the wall, new appliances and windows, all the things the mayor mentioned, things that will offer healthy, safe, quiet and dignified living that NYCHA residents for so long have been denied.
And importantly, it means NYCHA property management and workers having the tools and resources they need to do their jobs well and to demonstrate the kind of public excellence that our city's Public Housing Authority was once and can once again be known for.
The trust is also building assets and expanding economic mobility for residents by partnering with groups like NYC Kids RISE to establish the Nostrand Houses Community Scholarship, marking a first-of-its-kind recurring investment into children's NYC scholarship accounts living in Nostrand Houses and setting a model for future NYCHA developments.
These kinds of investments send a message to every kid that grows up and goes to public school from Nostrand Houses that you matter, that your city and your neighbors believe in you, that we have your back.
This moment would not have been possible without the creativity and courage of so many that are here today. The governor's team, Senator Salazar, former Assembly Member Cymbrowitz, who led on getting the trust approved in Albany. The team at NYCHA, and especially the team at the Preservation Trust, who together worked to set up an entirely new public benefit corporation. Not only that, but securing the financing needed to get to this point. Doing really meaningful engagement with residents to ensure they were leading the way.
And I can't help but thank our financing partners who also took a leap of faith on this brand-new model and approach. Something traditional financing partners are not usually willing to do. Shoutout to HDC and our partners at Merchants Capital.
And, of course, none of this would be possible without the residents here at Nostrand Houses, who also took a major leap of faith with the first-ever vote to join the trust and who have guided the approach, the vision and the design of these renovations over the last three years.
We will not let you down. We know there is much more work to be done to deliver the kind of housing that NYCHA residents deserve. And today we're showing what is possible when we bring all of our tools to bear on delivering a more affordable city. One where all New Yorkers can live with dignity.
So now it's my pleasure to introduce someone who has been a leader for our entire city, working mostly in Albany, but here in the city as well, on helping deliver a city we can afford, Senator Julia Salazar.
State Senator Julia Salazar: Thank you, Deputy Mayor, and good morning, everyone. Allow me to begin by thanking the people who are truly the reason we are all here today: the residents and resident leaders of Nostrand Houses.
It was in December 2023 that 808 of you voted to become the first NYCHA development in our city to join the Public Housing Preservation Trust. No one had done this before you did. There was not a tested model, not a finished project to look to. It was just a plan and a vision. You saw that vision. You asked the tough questions, and you decided that your homes deserved better than what the government had provided you. You are leaders among hundreds of thousands of NYCHA residents in our city.
While I did not initiate the long fight to make this law a reality, I am grateful that I ultimately had the privilege of becoming the Senate sponsor of the bill that made the trust possible.
For decades, public housing has been starved of the investment that it deserves. Washington pulled back its funding year after year, and the repairs backlog grew into billions of dollars. Families lived with leaks, mold, broken elevators and heat that came and went, and they were just told to wait. Waiting for this to change is not a plan.
And too often, the only alternative on offer was privatization, which would trade away the thing that makes public housing so valuable: its permanence and its promise of stability for residents.
The trust represents a third way. It lets us tap stable federal funding to make deep, comprehensive repairs, and it keeps these homes 100 percent public. The apartments stay publicly owned and managed, and rents stay permanently affordable. Residents keep their rights and even gain more autonomy through the trust.
Today, that promise becomes real. This investment of hundreds of millions of dollars across Nostrand's 16 buildings for more than 2,200 residents. That means new kitchens and bathrooms. It means new windows, plumbing and electrical systems. It means getting hazardous materials like lead paint out of these homes for good.
None of this will be easy. We know that construction is disruptive. Concerns about that are legitimate, and they deserve honest answers. The trust has committed to keeping disruption minimal and to keeping residents at the center of the process. Those of us in government are going to hold every partner to that commitment, and I know that you will too.
This project belongs to Nostrand residents. You will help shape the design, as you already have, down to the finishes and colors. And the whole city is watching. Because Nostrand Houses is the proof of concept. If we do this right, and I know we will, it becomes the blueprint for Highland in Bushwick, in my district, for developments across our city who choose this too, and for public housing across New York.
I think about what people who first built this community in 1950 must have felt; the belief that a city should house working families with dignity. That belief continues. What failed in the past was the follow-through. Today, we are following through on our commitment.
And, of course, I want to thank Mayor Mamdani; NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt; Trust President Vlada Kenniff; my former colleague Assemblyman Cymbrowitz, who is a lifelong advocate for dignified housing; the CMG team and all who worked to turn this from a bill into a building site.
To the residents of Nostrand Houses, you took a leap of faith, and we intend to honor it apartment by apartment and building by building. Let's get to work.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Thank you, senator. I'm now happy to introduce someone who works day in and day out to serve NYCHA and its residents.
In her time as CEO, Lisa has overseen incredible work to put NYCHA on a stronger organizational footing, making significant progress on the challenges facing the authority. And, of course, behind Lisa on the efforts today is an entire team of people that have worked tirelessly to help set up this infrastructure. But with that, let me introduce Lisa Bova-Hiatt.
Lisa Bova-Hiatt, CEO, NYCHA: Thank you. And welcome, everyone, to Nostrand Houses. It's so great to be here with you to celebrate this historic and momentous milestone for our city, NYCHA and the Public Housing Preservation Trust.
To all of our partners and supporters who helped make this achievement possible, a giant thank you. The Hochul administration; Senator Salazar; Mayor Mamdani; Deputy Mayor Bozorg; our colleagues across the administration; Vlada Kenniff and her team at the Trust and the board of directors of the Trust.
A huge shoutout to my NYCHA colleagues, including my NYCHA chair, Jamie Rubin, Community Modernization Group, the Kings Bay Y, New York City Kids RISE, Legal Aid, CSS, HDC and Merchants and the AFL-CIO.
The residents of Nostrand Houses have spoken. They were the first development to vote to join the trust. And thanks to that decision, we just closed on $610 million in financing that will totally transform their development with fully upgraded building systems, enhanced security, improved accessibility and top-to-bottom renovations for all 1,148 apartments.
The Trust's transformation brings with it additional life-changing opportunities, social services and programs for youth, families and seniors alike. The trust is also going to contribute $100 annually to the New York City scholarship accounts of Nostrand students.
All the while, Nostrand Houses remains 100 percent public and managed by NYCHA. Residents keep their rights and protections, and their rent stays permanently affordable.
I'm also proud that residents remain involved in every step of the way in this great leap forward, guiding the renovation priorities as well as the interior design. We've been engaging residents here for years and will continue partnering with you as we keep moving forward in these exciting years to come.
The capital needs across NYCHA developments are astounding due to the decades of federal disinvestment, and they've climbed to nearly $80 billion. But thankfully, we have the vision and the strategies to overcome the obstacles and bring NYCHA developments the funding that they so desperately need.
Transformation is in the heart of the work that we do at NYCHA. We're doing everything necessary to bring residents the quality of life they deserve and ensure that NYCHA remains a vital resource of affordable housing in our city for another century and beyond.
It is so wonderful to be a part of this amazing transformation, and we couldn't do it without all of you. Thank you again to everyone for helping us make history and for making Nostrand Houses a home to be proud of.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Thank you, Lisa. We've spoken a lot today about the improvements that are only possible thanks to the structure of the trust.
