The NYCHA Journal

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Randall-Balcom Houses
Resident Vote Top Story 

Initial Vote Tallies Begin at Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue

Michael

On April 23, NYCHA announced that the voting periods have concluded for residents of Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue, and an independent, third-party election administrator has begun tallying the votes. Notices of Vote for the separate but concurrent voting periods were mailed in December, kicking off 100 days of public engagement at both campuses. Residents of the Bronx developments began voting online March 19 and started receiving ballots to vote by mail in the days following. In-person voting was available to eligible residents from April 7 through April 22, 2025, with a brief pause from Friday, April 18 through Sunday, April 20 for the Easter holiday. Following Nostrand Houses, Bronx River Addition, Coney Island Houses and Coney Island I (Site 1B), and Hylan Houses, Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue represent the sixth and seventh developments to hold votes of this kind, in which residents had the opportunity to cast their ballots regarding the future of their homes. Final results are expected on Tuesday, April 29, once any additional mail-in votes (marked no later than the final day of voting) have been received and counted.

The election administrator’s count of resident votes has begun, and it is confirmed that the votes at both Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue have achieved the minimum threshold of 20 percent of all heads of household required to be considered valid. Votes from 50 and 58 percent of all Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue heads of household, respectively, have been received and counted thus far.

“This is an exciting time for residents of two Bronx developments,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “Throughout the 100-day public engagement period, residents were educated on the ballot options regarding the future of their homes. Next week, we’ll find out what it is that the residents of Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue envision that future to be.”  

Throggs Neck Addition, home to 482 eligible voters, cast 219 ballots, which included 148 from heads of household. By the election administrator’s count, there are currently 123 votes to remain in Section 9, 79 votes to join the Public Housing Preservation Trust, and 12 votes to enter the PACT program. Five ballots could not be counted due to unclear voter intent.

Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue, home to 250 eligible voters, cast 147 ballots, including 137 from heads of household. By the election administrator’s count, there are currently 76 votes to enter the PACT program, 36 votes to join the Public Housing Preservation Trust, and 35 to remain Section 9.

If additional mail-in ballots postmarked no later than April 22 are received, they will be counted on Tuesday, April 29.

It is estimated that Throggs Neck Addition, home to 631 residents in 287 apartments, has a 20-year capital need of nearly $134 million; Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue, home to 247 residents in 252 apartments, has a 20-year capital need of nearly $121 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. 

The New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust, a fully public entity signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, is expected to unlock billions of dollars in federal funding for comprehensive renovations at NYCHA developments to improve living conditions for residents. Under the Trust, a development is kept 100 percent public and converted to the more stable, federally funded Project-Based Section 8 program, while residents maintain their rights, including permanently affordable rent.

The PACT program transitions developments from traditional Section 9 assistance to Project-Based Section 8 and unlocks funding for resident-selected PACT partners to complete comprehensive repairs and to oversee daily property management of the campus. Overall, 146 NYCHA developments (representing over 39,000 apartments) are in pre-development, are under construction, or have completed construction through the program. This represents over $13 billion in capital repairs for the Authority. The Authority is working 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.

According to the official voting procedures, residents are eligible to vote if they are 18 years or older and part of the household composition. Participation from a minimum threshold of 20 percent of all heads of household is required for a vote to be considered valid.

NYCHA’s Voter Engagement Team conducted 100 days of engagement at Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue, which included door-knocking, phone-banking, and distribution of physical materials to residents. A total of six public information sessions were held to explain the vote and ballot options to residents of the two developments. These and other engagement efforts amounted to nearly 800 total touchpoints with a total of 450 eligible voters from both developments.

Once all votes have been tallied, the selections made by the residents of Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue will be announced.