Vote at Hylan Houses Results in Tie Between the Trust and PACT
On December 20, NYCHA announced that an independent election administrator has confirmed that no additional mail-in votes, postmarked no later than December 12, have been received for the resident vote at Hylan Houses. Following an initial tally conducted on December 13, residents’ selections of the Public Housing Preservation Trust and the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program remain tied at 83 votes each. Both options would convert the development to Project-Based Section 8 to unlock funding necessary to complete comprehensive renovations. The election administrator will now undertake a recount of the votes on January 8, 2025, prior to the vote certification. If the election administrator determines the top two choices received the same number of votes after a full recount, the tie will be resolved through a runoff vote, as outlined in the official voting procedures.
“With the current tie between PACT and the Trust, the key takeaway is that residents of Hylan Houses are overwhelmingly hoping for something new,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “It’s clear that residents want to see real changes to their homes, and we look forward to working closely with Hylan residents as we take the next step to see what the future holds.”
Hylan Houses follows in the footsteps of Nostrand Houses, Bronx River Addition, Coney Island Houses and Coney Island I (Site 1B) as the fifth development to hold a vote of this kind, in which residents had the opportunity to cast their ballots regarding the future of their homes. Residents were able to choose between three ballot options: joining the Trust or PACT program, or remaining Section 9. On August 1, 100 days of public engagement kicked off with the official Notice of Vote, followed by 30 days of voting from November 13 to December 12.
The election administrator’s count confirmed the minimum threshold of 20 percent of all heads of household required for the vote to be considered valid, with votes from 62 percent received. Hylan Houses is home to 305 eligible voters and received 175 valid resident votes, including 121 from heads of household. The Trust and PACT received 83 votes each, while Section 9 received nine votes.
As per the official voting procedures, if it is determined that a runoff is needed once a full recount has been conducted to confirm the existing tallies, residents of Hylan will be provided at least 30 days of notice followed by 30 days of voting. Votes may be cast in the same manner as during the initial voting process — by mail, online, and in person during the last 10 days of the voting period. However, this time residents will choose between only the two options that were tied: PACT or the Trust. The selection that comes out with the most votes at the end of the voting period will be honored.
It is estimated that Hylan Houses, home to a total of 410 residents in 209 apartments, has a 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.
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.
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.
Residents of Throggs Neck Addition and Randall Avenue-Balcom Avenue will be the next to vote, following 100 days of public engagement. A 30-day voting period is expected to run from March 18 to April 16, 2025.