New York City’s ailing public housing system needs $78.3 billion in repairs and upgrades — nearly double the amount from just five years ago as construction costs rise and infrastructure conditions deteriorate, according to a new fiscal analysis released on Wednesday.
The New York City Housing Authority’s latest physical needs assessment paints a grim picture for the more than 360,000 residents who call its public housing complexes home.
The agency, which has 177,000 apartments in its portfolio across the five boroughs, said the money is mostly needed to fix individual units, heating and plumbing systems and building exteriors across the aging campuses, with estimated costs reaching about $485,000 per unit.
NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt said the assessment “demonstrates the tremendous magnitude and scale of the needs and challenges of NYCHA, following decades of disinvestment in public housing in New York City and across the country.”
Officials attributed about two-thirds of the cost increases to rising prices, with the additional money needed to address lead-based paint, asbestos removal and general upkeep.
In a statement, Mayor Eric Adams vowed to prioritize NYCHA’s needs but said “only the federal government can provide the level of funding needed to overcome decades of disinvestment in the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who call public housing home.”
The latest estimate is a 73% increase from 2018, when the agency estimated it needed $45 billion over 20 years to keep up with repairs and renovations.
NYCHA is required to release a physical needs assessment every five years, but said it will now begin providing annual updates.
The latest analysis comes as no surprise. Four years ago, the agency projected that its capital needs could reach $68 billion by 2028 — a deficit it has already surpassed.
About 361,000 New Yorkers are authorized to live in NYCHA’s 335 apartment complexes, with many others sharing units without appearing on a lease. Rents in…
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