Image Credit: NYCHA.
On January 6, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul and interim New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt announced the start of planning for work to replace 335 elevators at 20 NYCHA developments citywide.
NYCHA’s elevator stock includes elevators installed back in 1990. All of the elevators identified to be replaced are older than the typical 15-20 year lifespan of elevators usually found in multifamily residential properties.
The improvements will impact almost 34,000 residents in nearly 16,000 apartments. Six of the impacted campuses are for seniors, who often rely on consistent elevator accessibility. A full list of developments to receive upgrades can be found here.
The timeline for completion varies between developments depending on the building’s age and the number of elevators that need to be replaced. The timelines range from 49 months (at the Cassidy-Lafayette Houses in Staten Island) to 81 months (at the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn). All work is expected to be completed by December 2028.
The project is part of a $300 million funding agreement with the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The state legislature allocated $300 million for NYCHA to upgrade elevators in the 2020 and 2021 budgets.
Mayor Adams stated, “Every day, NYCHA residents experience the consequences of decades of underinvestment and tens of billions of dollars in capital needs. Providing them the quality of life that every New Yorker deserves requires creativity and partnership — and this agreement represents both. With the Public Housing Preservation Trust, the PACT program, and programs like this, we are giving residents a true menu of options to get the repairs they need in their homes in the way they prefer. I want to thank all of our partners in Albany for their investment in NYCHA, and I look forward to getting this work done to help 34,000 New Yorkers avoid dangerous broken elevators.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)
nice!