Initial Tally of Resident Vote at Hylan Houses

NYCHA announced that the 30-day voting period has concluded for residents of Hylan Houses, and an independent, third-party election administrator has started tallying the votes. Following Nostrand Houses, Bronx River Addition, Coney Island Houses and Coney Island I (Site 1B), Hylan Houses is the fifth development to hold votes of this kind, in which residents had the opportunity to cast their ballots regarding the future of their homes. Residents of the Brooklyn development were able to choose between three ballot options: joining the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust or the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program, or remaining Section 9. Final results are expected on Friday, December 20.

The election administrator’s count of resident votes has begun, and it is confirmed to have achieved the minimum threshold of 20 percent of all heads of household required for the vote to be considered valid. Votes from 62 percent of all Hylan Houses heads of household have been received and counted thus far.

Hylan Houses, home to 305 eligible voters, had a preliminary tally of 175 valid resident votes, which included 121 from heads of household. By the election administrator’s count, there are currently 83 votes to join the Public Housing Preservation Trust, 83 votes to enter the PACT program, and nine votes to remain Section 9. If additional mail-in ballots postmarked no later than December 12 are received, they will be counted on Friday, December 20. If no additional mail-in votes are received, the tie will be resolved through a runoff vote, as outlined in the voting procedures.

“We are pleased that residents of Hylan Houses have had the opportunity to cast their votes over the past 30 days,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “Through this process, we empower residents to be the ultimate decision-makers for their homes and communities, and we are committed to supporting them in this process.”

It is estimated that Hylan Houses, home to 410 residents in 209 apartments, has 20-year capital need of nearly $90 million. Portfolio-wide, a Physical Needs Assessment (PNA) released by NYCHA in 2023 estimates the Authority’s total capital needs to be nearly $80 billion following decades of federal disinvestment.

Public Housing Preservation Trust

The Public Housing Preservation Trust, a fully public entity signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022 following extensive advocacy from the Adams administration and NYCHA, is expected to unlock billions of dollars in federal funding for much-needed, comprehensive renovations at NYCHA developments to improve living conditions for residents.

PACT

The PACT program transitions developments from traditional Section 9 assistance to the more stable, federally funded Project-Based Section 8 program — unlocking funding for designated PACT partners to complete comprehensive repairs. Overall, 139 NYCHA developments (representing nearly 38,000 apartments) are in pre-development, are under construction, or have completed construction through the program. The Authority is on track to include 62,000 apartments in the PACT program in order to bring the benefits of comprehensive apartment repairs and building upgrades, as well as enhanced property management and social services, to more than 142,000 residents.

Section 9

Residents are also able to vote to have their development remain under the traditional Section 9 model. If selected, the development will not be converted to Project-Based Section 8 through the Trust or PACT at this time and additional funding for comprehensive renovations will not be unlocked. Traditional Section 9 receives capital and operations subsidy from the federal government, which has disinvested in public housing in New York City and across the nation for several decades. If residents from Hylan Houses elect to remain Section 9, NYCHA will continue to deliver repairs as it did prior to the vote.

NYCHA’s Voter Engagement Team conducted 100 days of engagement at Hylan Houses prior to the 30-day voting period, which included door-knocking, phone-banking, and distribution of physical materials to residents of both developments. Six public information sessions were held to explain the vote and ballot options to residents. These and other engagement efforts amounted to over 500 total touchpoints with a total of 207 eligible voters. In the coming days, additional mail-in votes may arrive and will be counted toward the final result if postmarked no later than the final day of voting, December 12, 2024. Once all votes have been tallied, the definitive selection made by the residents of Hylan Houses will be announced.