At Home in Brownsville Studio

A Plan for Transforming Public Housing

Hunter College Masters of Urban Planning Studio, Spring 2014 Studio Team Members

Craig Baerwald Jacob Bogitsh Mia Brezin Erin Coombs Rhonda-Lee Davis Alcia Hall Prudence Katze Jessica Lax Sarah Meier-Zimbler Tariqua Morrison Juan Carlos Quiridumbay Yasmine Robinson

Faculty Advisor: Ralph Blessing Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs and Planning

At Home in Brownsville Acknowledgements

Saundra Johnson, Van Dyke Community Center

Karyn Williams, Municipal Arts Society

Nupur Chaudhury, Brownsville Partnership

Genese Morgan, Ocean Hill-Brownsville Neighborhood Improvement Association

Keturah Suggs, Ocean Hill-Brownsville Improvement Association

Allison Jones, Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center

At Home in Brownsville Table of Contents

At Home in Brownsville 5 Table of Contents

Introduction...... 9 Mission Statement...... 11 Brownsville in Context...... 13 Overview of Report...... 13

Locating Brownsville...... 15

Study Area...... 16 NYCHA in Our Study Area...... 17 What is NYCHA?...... 17 Brownsville History...... 17 Community Characteristics...... 19 Demographics...... 19 Safety...... 20 Health...... 21 Civic Engagement...... 21 Zoning and Existing Land Uses...... 21 Residential...... 22 Manufacturing...... 22 Commercial...... 22 Community Facilities...... 23 Economic Development...... 23 Access to Transportation...... 23

Brownsville Challenges and Recommendations...... 24 Community and Residence Challenges and Recommendations...... 27 Youth & Education...... 27

CHALLENGES...... 28 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 28 Collaborating with NYS to Fund Community Schools in Brownsville...... 28 Department of Youth and Community Development Funded Beacon & Cornerstone...... 29 Creation of a Pilot Young Adult Internship Program...... 29 Continuing Education and Employment...... 29

CHALLENGES...... 29 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 29 Create More Business Education Opportunities...... 29 Civic Engagement and Place Making...... 30

CHALLENGES...... 30 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 30 Redesign Physical Spaces Around Civic Buildings...... 30 Promote Cooperative Planning Between Civic Groups by Establishing Eteering Committees...30 Maximize and Democratize Use of Existing Public Resources...... 30 Elevate Existing Building to a Civic Center to Provide Space for Community Events...... 30 Community Safety...... 30

CHALLENGES...... 30 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 30 Create Safer Streets Through Better Policing and Improving Rapport...... 31

At Home in Brownsville Table of Contents 6

Youth Participation...... 31 Shift Group Norms...... 31 Health...... 32

CHALLENGES...... 32 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 32 Build a Healthier Brownsville by Supplying Quality Food...... 32 Provide Study Area Residents with Tools to Navigate Healthcare System...... 32

NYCHA Challenges and Recommendations...... 35 NYCHA’s Budget...... 36

CHALLENGES...... 37 Operating Budget...... 37 Capital Budget...... 38 Lack of Federal Funding and Rising Costs...... 38

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 39 INCREASE FUNDING...... 39 Federal Budget...... 39 State and City Funding and Subsidies...... 39 Rent Structures...... 40 Payments in Lieu of Taxes...... 40

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 40 INCREASE EFFICENCY...... 40 Contractual Services...... 41 Energy Efficiency...... 41 Audit...... 41

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 41 RE-BRANDING PUBLIC HOUSING...... 41 Creation of Non-Profit to Coordinate Re-branding Campaign...... 42 Lobby for Increased Funding for NYCHA...... 42 NYCHA’s Management and Structure...... 42

CHALLENGES...... 43 Maintenance: Centralized Repair Hotline with Long Wait Times...... 43 Centralized Application Process and Eligibility...... 43 Centralized Programs and Services...... 43 Centralized Dual Management Structure...... 44 Lack of Meaningful Tenant Control and Participation...... 44 Undemocratic Control: Mayoral Appointees...... 44 Lack of Quality Resident Engagement...... 44

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 45 NYCHA DECENTRALIZATION AND RESTRUCTURING...... 45

NYCHA Local Offices...... 45 Operational Management-Building Maintenance, Occupancy and Rent Collection...... 45 Community Programming...... 46 Employing From Tenant Base...... 46 Participatory Budgeting...... 46

NYCHA Headquarters...... 46

At Home in Brownsville 7 Table of Contents

NYCHA Headquarters on the whole...... 46 NYCHA Headquarters as a support for local offices...... 47 NYCHA Headquarters increasing Transparency and Accountability...... 47

NYCHA’s Future Housing Projects and HPD...... 47 NYCHA’s Transition to Decentralization...... 48

Physical Planning Challenges and Recommendations...... 51 Connectivity in Brownsville...... 52

CHALLENGES...... 52 RECCOMENDATIONS...... 52 Build Upon Existing Connectivity Initiatives...... 52 Fostering Connectivity...... 52 Neighborhood Street Connectivity...... 52 Access to Transportation...... 52

CHALLENGES...... 52 Subways...... 52 Buses...... 53 Bike Lanes...... 53

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 56 Zoning...... 57

CHALLENGES...... 57 Zoning...... 57 Vacant Lots...... 57

RECCOMENDATIONS...... 57 REZONING...... 57 Infill...... 57 Residential...... 57 Commercial Corridors...... 60 Affordable Housing...... 60 Commercial Corridors...... 60 Conclusion...... 62

Appendix...... 65

Item A: Questionnaire...... 66

Item B: Existing NYCHA Programming...... 69

Item C: Additional Housing from to Proposed Rezoning...... 72

References...... 75

At Home in Brownsville At Home in Brownsville INTRODUCTION

Mission Statement

The goal of the Brownsville public housing studio is to increase the livability of the public housing residents by addressing the physical en- vironment and conditions and the economic, educa- tional, cultural, health and safety needs. Introduction 12

Community Board 16

Map 1: Community Board 16 Image 1: Looking at East New York, Long Island Raild Road Stop

Introduction

Brownsville in Context such public housing is at the center of organizations—such as the Brown- issues affecting the whole community. ville Partnership (BP) and the project Brownsville is a unique neighbor- team for the Municipal Arts Society’s hood that has been an important part Brownsville project—the Brownsville of New York City’s history. In recent Overview of Report Multiservice Center (BMS), the Van years, the neighborhood has been Dyke community Center, a New York challenged by poverty and crime, and This report will provide an overview City Housing Authority police officer, has long been considered one of New of current socio-economic conditions, and interviews with approximately fifty York City’s most dangerous neighbor- land use, and current transportation local residents. hoods. Brownsville has remained un- in the area. It will further provide rec- touched by the gentrification seen in ommendations that focus on neigh- so many other parts of Brooklyn, and borhood programs and services, New York City as whole, challenging streamlining effective public housing the community to effectively manage management in Brownsville, and im- whatever resources they have. With provements to the physical structure the largest concentration of public of public housing developments and housing in the country, the New York the neighborhood. City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has the potential to drastically create bet- Our recommendations are based ter living conditions for its tenants, on extensive background research, however, for Brownsville residents, meetings with local community based

At Home in Brownsville

LOCATING BROWNSVILLE Locating Brownsville 16

Study Area

Map 2: Brownsville Sutdy Area

At Home in Brownsville 17 Locating Brownsville

Locating Brownsville

Study Area cial and community services across bone-boiling plants, and the marshy its 334 developments. NYCHA was land could be prone to flooding from The study area is located in the south founded in 1934 and opened its first the adjacent Jamaica Bay.4 Browns- east section of Brownsville. Together development, First Houses in the Low- ville’s origin as an immigrant destina- with Ocean Hill, Brownsville com- er East Side of Manhattan, in 1935.2 tion was a result of a set of dynamic prises Brooklyn Community District factors, such as cheap land, open 16 (CB16) and encompasses almost Despite NYCHA’s financial and man- space, speculative builders, and an two square miles in central Brooklyn. agement problems, it is arguably the immigrant population eager partake in The neighborhood is bordered by Ful- best run housing authority in America. the American dream. It was first sub- ton Street and the neighborhood of As rents increase dramatically across divided into small lots by a real-estate Bedford-Stuyvesant to the north, the New York City, many view NYCHA speculator in 1858 and it quickly be- Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) freight as the last bastion of truly affordable came a destination for working-class line and East New York to the east, housing. NYCHA is one of the few Jews who wanted to escape the Linden Boulevard and the neighbor- housing authorities in the country that congestion of the Lower East Side’s hoods of Canarsie and Flatbush to has vowed to preserve its housing crowded streets.5 the south, and East 98th Street and stock, rather than demolish and re- Crown-Heights to the west. Approxi- build. The community of Brownsville began mately 100,468 people call the neigh- as a speculative project before there borhood home.1 Nationwide, other public housing au- were even roads and a sewer system. thorities have completely revamped Yet, it was the influx of immigrants that The study area itself is bordered by their housing programs, and in many created the desire for factories and re- Rockaway Avenue to the west, East cases have demolished their original tail stores to locate in the area. Start- New York Avenue to the north, Junius housing stock. Many authorities have ing with the completion of the Brooklyn Street to the east, and Livonia Avenue abandoned the traditional “tower in Bridge in 1883, and other transporta- to the south. We chose this area be- the park” style of housing in favor for tion improvements, scores of Jew- cause of the high concentration of one-and-two family townhouses which ish, Italian, and Irish immigrants were public housing in a geographically yield less units overall. drawn to the area. Residents packed confined space. 3,789,139 square feet themselves into the cheaply con- (or about 41 percent) out of our study As a result, NYCHA now has the larg- structed tenement housing, swelling area’s 9,384,485 square feet is made est public housing program in the the population to over 100,000 people up of NYCHA campuses: a significant country. As of 2013, 621,212 New by 1920, including 253 African-Ameri- proportion of the neighborhood. Yorkers were served by NYCHA’s cans.6 Unfortunately, increased levels Public Housing and Section 8 Pro- of crime and poverty soon followed the grams, with 290,886 people still on the growth in population. waiting lists for each.3 NYCHA in our Study Area Although poor, Brownsville was de- voted to social progress in the early We chose census tracts 906, 908, 20th century. For instance, the neigh- 910, and 912 as our focal point of Brownsville History borhood progressed the first birth con- study in Brownsville because the ur- trol clinic in the United States, the first ban layout of large superblock designs Brownsville began as a farming com- children’s library in the world, as well typical of so many NYCHA develop- munity at the turn of the 19th century. as the first public pool in New York ments overlap across shared census Originally part of the larger territory of City.. Due to congestion, the commu- tract borders. New Lots, farmers of diverse ethnici- nity actively lobbied for better hous- ties—English, Irish, African-American, ing conditions, opening the area’s and Eastern-European Jewish im- first public housing development in migrants—tilled the soil. Many of the 1948, Brownsville Houses, shortly What is NYCHA? immigrants were recent arrivals, and after NYCHA’s founding in 1934. The they were simultaneously repelled by Brownsville Houses opened with a The New York City Housing Authority the teeming streets of Manhattan and white to black ratio of 52 to 48, and this mission is to increase opportunities drawn to the area’s fresh air. However, immediately set Brownsville’s housing for low and moderate-income New Brownsville was also the location of a apart from the rest of NYCHA’s seg- Yorkers by providing safe, affordable landfill, construction supplier facilities, 4 Pritchett, 11 housing and facilitating access to so- 2 NYCHA 5 Pritchett, 11 1 ACS, 2012 3 NYCHA 6 Pritchett, 13-14, 40

At Home in Brownsville 1865: First devel- 1860s opment by Charles S. Brown

1870s

1889: Fulton St El Opens 1880s

1903: Williamsburg Bridge opens 1900s

1916: Home to World’s 1910s 1st Birth Control Clinic

1903: Williamsburg 1920: Population Bridge opens 1920s tops 100,000

1934: NYCHA found- 1930: 5,062 Blacks ed 1930s call Brownsville home

1940: Betsy Head 1944: Postwar 1948: Brownsville 1940s Pool rebuilt by Plan for Browns- Houses WPA ville

1950s: Urban Renew- 1955: Howards al & White Flight 1950s Houses Built

1963: Establichment 1968: Ocean-Hill 1961: 1st Urban Re- 1965: HUD Created of Brownsville Com- Brownsville School newal Area Designat- 1960s munity Council (BCC) Strike ed in Brownsville

1968: Glenmore 1970s: Brownsville 1970s: Brownsville Plaza Built 1970s crime 2nd highst in poverty rate highest NYC in NYC

1984: Crack Cocaine 1981: 1st Nehemiah Hits NYC 1980s House Built

1996: Pitkin Avenue 1990s Business Improve- ment District

2011: Land Lease Plan (Infill) 2000s

2006: NYCHA Plan 2014: DeBlasio vows to Preserve Public to “Clean Hous“ on Housing FUTURE NYCHA 19 Locating Brownsville regated developments.7 According declares the highest arrest rates of all and by 1979 the Department of Hous- to Wendell Pritchett’s book Browns- Brownsville NYCHA developments, ing Preservation and Development ville, Brooklyn: Blacks, Jews, and the adding to an already present “ghetto” (HPD) reported that over 60 percent Changing Face of the Ghetto, it was public image with gang violence and of the units in Ocean Hill-Brownsville “from the commencement of the New drug abuse restricting social mobility. were under city control or at risk of sei- York public housing program, [that] zure.12 Brownsville leaders worked to secure By 1963, the Beth-El Hospital strike a project for their own neighborhood”.8 of 1962 empowered members of the Projects like the Nehemiah Houses in The progressive, Jewish population community to utilize federal funding the 1980s were born out of a grass- saw public housing as a way to stabi- to establish the Brownsville Commu- roots movement to rebuild the com- lize the community, and they uniquely nity Council (BCC). The BCC sought munity. The Pitkin Avenue Business welcomed multiracial developments, to give residents the tools to solve the Improvement District (BID) has cre- which they expected to be models for major problems hindering --economic ated a central business community interracial living.9 development, housing, and access to within the neighborhood, while pro- arts and culture. The community’s em- viding security, streetscape improve- As a result of the white flight that oc- powerment was exhibited when May- ments and increased sanitation on curred after World War II, poor minor- or John Lindsay granted Ocean Hill- the commercial strips. Brownsville, at ity residents became concentrated in Brownsville residents the authority to once the only neighborhood in Brook- urban areas, especially in public hous- form their own community-controlled lyn without a high school, now has ing. Brownsville’s original population school board. Under the creation of three. Presently the positive develop- was no different, and many middle the new board, an illicit decision was ments in the community have grown class residents left for more affluent made to fire teachers and administra- out of organizations like the Browns- parts of the city and suburbs, being tors believed to be hindering the suc- ville Partnership, Made in Brownsville, replaced by poor African Americans cessful education of minority students Brooklyn Multi-Services,Brownsville who were largely excluded from so- in the community—the fired workers Community Justice Center, and Med- cial mobility by racism, redlining, and were primarily white and Jewish, fur- gar Evers College’s collaboration with a decline in entry level manufacturing ther fueling racial tensions. Because local community centers (Van Dyke, jobs. Such practices were largely due of the dismissals, thousands of teach- Seth Low Houses, Tilden, and Unity to Robert Moses targeting “impov- ers in the NYC United Federation of Plaza).13 erished” areas as ideal locations for Teachers went on strike at the start urban renewal projects.10 As Pritchett of the 1968 school year. The series states, “to the east was Brownsville, a of strikes occurring throughout 1968 Community relatively open minded community with were ended when the New York State Characteristics a somewhat upwardly mobile popula- Department of Education adopted a tion and a large stock of deteriorating citywide school decentralization plan Demographics housing that no one wanted. Consid- that divided the city into large school Brownsville has seen a steady de- ering all the alternatives, Brownsville districts. The strikes served to be a crease in population since its peak certainly presented the least conten- major setback to the empowerment of 300,000 residents in 1925. By the tious area for expansion of Brook- the community had garnered at the 1970s, the population diminished to lyn’s black ghetto”.11 The availability of start of the 1960s. 122,589 and in 1980 the neighborhood housing, no matter its condition, was was only home to 73,801 residents. appealing to newcomers who couldn’t By the start of the 1970s, Browns- Such decreases have increased va- attain access to anything better. ville’s once rapid momentum was on cancies and weakened the productiv- the decline. However, the New York ity of the few retail options that cur- Due to increased urban renewal proj- City financial crisis of the 1970s ag- rently existing. However, since its low ects, the neighborhood’s black popu- gravated the neighborhood’s prob- in the 1980s, the population has risen lation swelled from 22 percent in 1950 lems by dramatically reducing public again to 86,376 today.14 to nearly 75 percent by 1962. Racial services. Poverty ballooned to the tensions and violence grew out of the highest rates in the city and crime Brownsville’s population is primarily rapid development of public hous- rates followed closely behind. The African-American, and represents 76 ing and led to municipal neglect by once vibrant and prosperous commer- percent of the community. Hispanics NYCHA, New York City, and the police cial areas became less attractive be- make up 20 percent. Fourty-five per- department. cause of the perceived lack of safety, cent of households are headed by fe- lack of economic activity, and rioting. males in comparison to 18 percent of Furthermore, the Van Dyke houses Because of the reduction of public ser- female headed households citywide. 7 Pritchett, 98 vices, the built environment crumbled, The median age is 18 years old com- 8 Pritchett, 62 landlords became neglectful, and va- 9 Pritchett, 64 12 Pritchett, 248 10 Pritchett, 121 cant properties increased. The city 13 Brownsville Multi-Service Center 11 Pritchett, 99 seized properties that were neglected 14 American Community Survey, 2012

At Home in Brownsville Locating Brownsville 20 BROWNSVILLE NYC

AGE

Under 5 (15%) 5-9 Years (10%) Under 5 (11%) 5-9 Years (9%) 10-19 Years (18%) 20-29 Years (25%) 10-19 Years (19%) 20-29 Years (27%) 30-44 Years (32%) 30-44 Years (34%) RACE

White (34%) Asian (13%) Hispanic (29%)

White (1%) Asian (1%) Hispanic (20%) Black (78%) Black (24%) EDUCATIONAL

Bachelor's Degree or Higher ATTAINMENT

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

INCOME

via: Americanvia: Community Survey2012

Less than $34,999 (80%) $35K-149,999 (20%) Less than $34,999 (37%) $35K-149,999 (63%)

Image 2: Demographics pared to 36.5 years in New York City, median household income average.15 robberies in are nearly double that and the population under 30 compris- of NYC. Brownsville is policed by the es 55 percent of Brownsville but only 73rd precinct, and until recently, Po- 42 percent in New York City. Nearly Safety lice Service Area 2 (PSA-2, a part of one-third of the population is without During our survey over half of respon- the NYPD Housing Bureau). Based on a high school diploma and only seven dents reported they felt unsafe in their NYPD CompStats, the New York City percent of Brownsville residents have community. Despite Brownsville ac- Police Department’s accountability attained a bachelor’s degree--num- counting for only 0.6 percent of New process and organizational manage- bers much lower than Brooklyn and York City’s population, it ranks 2nd ment tool, crime has decreased dra- NYC. These factors contribute to an highest in prison admissions in the matically in the neighborhood since income per capita in Brownsville that entire city at nearly 2,000 in 2012. Re- 1990. However, residents in the com- is 45 percent less than the NYC aver- ported felony assaults in Brownsville munity continue to fear the rising gang age and 56 percent less than the NYC are triple that of NYC and reported presence and increased neighborhood 15 American Community Survey, 2012 gun violence, proving that violence

At Home in Brownsville 21 Locating Brownsville and the threat of crime is still a major sources for residents, visitors, and new buildings, their setback from the issue in the community. An estimated increase viability to businesses and street line, and their width along the one out of twelve males between the institutions through focused based ini- street frontage, to produce buildings ages of 16-24 living in Brownsville are tiatives emphasizing preservation of that are consistent with existing neigh- imprisoned.16 the physical infrastructure, economic borhood character.”19 The letter suffix growth, educational attainment, social “A” distinguishes these zones where and cultural exposure, maintaining Quality Housing Regulations are man- Health personal health, and sustaining the datory. According to the Department of Health, neighborhood environment. Brownsville, caused by limited access The Quality Housing program encour- to health care, few preventative and ages development consistent with the educational programs, and limited ac- Zoning and Existing Land character of many established neigh- cess to healthy food has the highest Uses borhoods. rates of infant deaths, cancer, heart disease, and obesity in NYC. 11.3 In many ways, Brownsville’s mid- Its bulk regulations set height limits infant mortalities per 1,000 live births 20th century land use decisions re- and allow high lot coverage buildings occurred in Brownsville compared to flects the neighborhood’s origins as that are set at or near the street line, only 5.2 in NYC. Asthma hospitaliza- a physical hodge-podge of farmland [and] also require amenities relating to tions in Brownsville/East New York are and factories. Today, a variety of build- interior space, recreation areas and 137 percent more frequent than that ing heights, forms and styles create, landscaping.” of NYC,17 and despite the eight large- at times, a visually disjointed neigh- This tends to produce high lot cover- scale grocers in the neighborhood, borhood “feel.” This uneven physical age with buildings near or at the street approximately 41 percent of the sur- landscape is compounded by the In- line. vey respondents reported they were dustrial Business Zone (IBZ) on the dissatisfied with the available grocery eastern edge of the neighborhood and R7A allows for a maximum FAR of 4.6 options in the study area because they the NYCHA superblocks that break when 20 percent of the floor area is de- are priced too high, lacking in quality, up the neighborhood’s continuity and veloped with affordable housing. For or both. flow. example, Mother Gaston Boulevard is 75 feet wide, much wider than Pitkin Avenue at 40 feet, thus the buildable Civic Engagement Residential FAR on blocks surrounding Mother There are a host of existing programs Brownsville, including the study area, Gaston Boulevard are greater than in Brownsville offering different av- is predominantly zoned medium-den- those surrounding Pitkin Avenue. The enues for engagement. For example, sity residential-R6 which is consid- study area has a number of streets community Board 16 and the NYCHA ered a non-contextual zoning district. that were widened as blocks merged tenant associations have long ad- According the New York City Depart- to form superblocks, which are notice- vocated for community involvement ment of City Planning (DCP) website, able across Rockaway Avenue and and the rights of residents. Medgar non-contextual districts are “generally along Sutter Avenue, Blake Avenue, Evers College, a public college in the mapped where there is a diverse mix and Dumont Avenue. City University of New York system, of building types and no predominant operates three community centers at context.”18 Neighborhoods that are The second set of bulk regulations is the Van Dyke I, Tilden, and Seth Low zoned R6 can include a mix of build- a result of the “tower-in-the-park” vi- developments, offering recreational ing types and heights. R6 includes two sion of urban planning popular in the space to all community members. In sets of bulk regulations, introduced 1950s. Tall buildings are set back recent years, Brownsville has seen with the 1961 zoning code, which from the street to allow more light and new stakeholders enter the communi- developers can choose from. One open space. This is the predominant ty, such as MAS, an organization that regulation is guided by height factor housing type within the study area as has traditionally worked exclusively in restrictions which produce small mul- NYCHA campuses were built with this Manhattan, which have created new tifamily buildings on small zoning lots. style of planning in mind. The FAR civic engagement programs. Addition- This housing type is common through- range for NYCHA developments are ally, the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Neigh- out Brownsville, most notable west of 0.78-2.43 with a maximum of 13 sto- borhood Improvement Association, Rockaway Avenue. ries. For a 13-story building, 81 per- a joint collaborative between Hunter cent of the lot would need to be open students and community residents, Portions of Brownsville and the study space. After 60 feet, the sky exposure has worked to improve access to re- area are zoned R6A and R7A. DCP plane governs the building height. describes contextual zoning districts 16 Youth Justice Board, 7 as “regulat[ing] the height and bulk of 17 “Brooklyn Neighborhood Reports, Commu- nity District 16”, Brooklyn Community Founda- 18 “Zoning Districts, Residence Districts”, New 19 “Zoning Districts, Residence Districts”, New tion York City Department of City Planning York City Department of City Planning

At Home in Brownsville Locating Brownsville 22

Maximum Depth of A sky exposure plane is a vir- Commercial Overlay tual sloping plane that begins FAR R6 District (ft) at a specified height above the street line and rises inward over the zoning lot a ratio of vertical EXISTING COMMERCIAL OVERLAY distance to horizontal distance set forth in district regulations. C1-2 2.0 150 A building may not penetrate the sky exposure plane which is C1-3 2.0 150 designed to provide light and air at street level, primarily in me- C2-3 2.0 150 dium- and higher-density dis- tricts. (NYC DCP) C2-4 2.0 100

Manufacturing area is dominated by a Food Bazar in the study area were: appareal re- The edge of Brownsville and the study and the subsequent parking lot. There tailers (16.2 percent of storefronts); area east of Powell Street include are no parking requirements for M1-4 delis ans small grocery stores (10.4 manufacturing - M1-1 and M1-4 zon- zoning and the FAR is 2.0, compared percent); beauty salons (8.5 percent); ing. Manufacturing - M1 tends to in- to M1-1 which has parking require- food service establishment (8.5 per- clude light manufacturing such as ments that vary with type of use and cent); and variety/discount stores (4.9 storage or repair shops. According to size of establishment and an FAR of percent).22 the DCP website, “offices, hotels and 1.0. most retail uses are permitted…and certain community facilities, such as Community Facilities hospitals, are allowed in M1 districts Commercial The Brownsville community pos- only by special permit, but houses The neighborhood and the study area sesses diverse physical resources of worship are allowed as-of-right.”20 consist of a number of C1 and C2 and institutions. There are community Also, new residential development is commercial overlays. A commercial spaces owned by NYCHA but oper- not allowed in M1-1 districts. Resi- overlay is a C1 or C2 district mapped ated by the New York City Depart- dences built before 1961 or before the within residential districts to serve lo- ment of Youth and Cultural Develop- zoning was changed to manufacturing cal retail needs (grocery stores, dry ment. There are three branches of the would be allowed to remain. cleaners, restaurants, for example).21 Brooklyn Public Library and upwards A C2-4 overlay exists on Livonia Av- of eight ambulatory facilities and pro- The manufacturing zone is bisected enue near the 3 train subway stations. grams. The neighborhood also has by the Long Island Railroad freight rail, Belmont Avenue, from Rockaway emergency services provided by the both used by heavy freight, as well Avenue to Christopher Street, has a 73rd precinct, Emergency Medical as the MTA L-subway line. The East commercial overlay of C1-1, and Sut- Services and the New York Fire De- Brooklyn Industrial Park is located in ter Avenue, from Thatford Avenue to partment Engine 290. Additionally, the northeast corner of Brownsville Mother Gaston Boulevard, has a C2-1 there are open space resources, civic and the study area, and is zoned M1- overlay. organizations as well as religious, 4. The M1-4 zoning encompasses the transportation, educational, and social blocks east of Powell Street, south to Pitkin Avenue and Rockaway Avenue service institutions serving Browns- Sutter Avenue. Examples of existing represent the commercial corridors ville residents. uses include Gershow Recycling (fig- and heart of the neighborhood. The ure…), Lewis Hydraulic Maintenance, intersection where they meet is zoned There are upwards of 100 institutional and Simtech Auto Repairs. There are as commercial district C4-3. C4-3 des- uses serving the community within a a number of existing “non-manufactur- ignates a regional commercial center quarter mile radius of the study area. ing” uses, including the Bravo Super- in a more densely built area, and of- In Brownsville, there are K-12 facili- market on the corner of Junius Street fers the same residential floor area ra- ties, three community centers, and and Sutter Avenue (figure…). The tio (0.78 - 2.43) as a R6 zone. libraries typically occupying larger zoning is M1-1 within the study area, lots—A large concentration of store- along Junius Street and south of Sut- The five most common active ground- front churches may be found occupy- ter Avenue. This section of the study floor uses along the commercial strips ing smaller lots and additional insti- 20 “Zoning Districts, Manufacturing Districts”, 21 “Zoning Glossary”, New York City Depart- 22 “Brownsville Works! A Strategic Economic New York City Department of City Planning ment of City Planning Development Plan”, 2012

At Home in Brownsville 23 Locating Brownsville tutions provide medical and security expanded in 2013, adding lanes along needs to the community. These facili- Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston ties are in close proximity to NYCHA Boulevard, helping to connect an in- developments in the study area and creasingly growing network of bike support residents by providing access lanes across the five boroughs. There to education, recreational and com- are still challenges to access these munity gathering spaces, job training transportation facilities, which will be and much needed technological re- further discussed in the recommenda- sources. tions section.

Economic Development In the 2011-2012 Brownsville Works! Studio, students found that there was no central advocate of economic de- velopment in the Brownsville-Ocean Hill area. Their recommendation for a community advocacy non-profit to co- ordinate economic strategies was the basis for the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Neighborhood Improvement Associa- tion. While this proves that progress is indeed possible in Brownsville, there are still many hindrances to economic development. As noted by the 2011- 2012 Studio, there is a continued lack of investment in Brownsville as there are only a few federal, state, or local policies aimed at bolstering economic development. Further, they highlight- ed the small number of “homegrown” businesses found in their economic study, as there are few business own- ers who are Brownsville residents.23 These existing challenges are com- pounded by barriers to literacy as well as physical and organizational access to jobs.

Access to Transportation

Brownsville is accessible by a num- ber of trains, buses, and bike lanes. A major transportation hub is the Broad- way Junction station in the northeast section of the district that connects the A, C, J, and L trains with the East New York station on the Long Island Railroad. The 3 train runs along Li- vonia Avenue at the southern end of the study area and the middle of the district. Buses run through or near the study area, including the B60 along Rockaway Avenue and the B14 which helps residents travel to Crown Heights or past the freight rail to East New York. The bike system recently 23 “Brownsville Works! A Strategic Economic Development Plan”, 2012 Locating Brownsville 24

Community

• College readiness and career programs for youth • Integrating existing resources • Safety and accessibility in com- munity spaces

Brownsville Challenges and Recommendations

Brownsville has a progressive history and there is opportunity to foster new advance- ments in the community. In the next section of the report we review the challenges Browns- ville faces in terms of the community engage- ment, NYCHA and the physical landscape. A review of the predominant challenges is displayed below. With these challenges we provide a vast scope of recommendations to improve the livability of Brownsville.

At Home in Brownsville 25 Locating Brownsville

NYCHA Physical Planning

• Financial Deficit • Connectivity Challenges • Inefficient Management and • Underutilized Land Structure • Continuity In Zonning • Tenant Involvement

At Home in Brownsville

Community and Residence Challenges and Recommendations Community and Residence 28

“This is not just about blanket po- lice work, this is about economic development and job creation... If you’re serious about crime, instead of building Yankee Stadium, build some youth centers in our neighbor- hood, fund our schools and teach science and culturally-relevant top- ics, build self-esteem.” - Charles

Barron, a longtime Brownsville City

Council Image 3: Van Dyke Community Center

views with community residents, we Recommendations identified four main groups of chal- lenges: Youth and Education, Civic Collaboration with NYS to fund Engagement and Place-Making, Safe- Community Schools in Brownsville Community ty, and Health. We recommend that community edu- and Residence cation stakeholders collaborate with Recommendations Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New Youth & Education York State Community Schools Initia- The following community recommen- tive to create a Community School in dations focus on education, economic Challenges Brownsville.26 Community Schools is opportunity, civic engagement, safety, a new statewide program that aims to and health. The recommendations Residents under 19 years of age com- transform schools in distressed com- presented in this section are based on prise 36% of our study area popula- munities into hubs for a wide range of interviews and conversations held with tion.24 Brownsville currently faces support services for children and their community residents at various points challenges to provide adequate edu- families, including health care, coun- over a six month period from January cation and recreational resources seling, nutrition, and job preparation to May, 2014. A 33 question survey for young people. Specific education services.27 was created in order to engage the challenges include: Low achieving el- public and actively seek out solutions ementary, middle, and high schools; If implemented in Brownsville, Com- to the current state of NYCHA and a lack of quality structured programs; munity Schools can empower families Brownsville as a whole (Appendix-1). and poor career and college readiness and communities to give students ex- The survey sought to gain insight programs. Brownsville public schools tra help through health care services, on resident’s feelings about safety, have not been efficient in providing family counseling, and employment NYCHA responsiveness and build- quality education to their students, assistance. Social services readily ac- ing conditions, health care and retail ill-preparing children to become aca- cessible in a school can strengthen options, civic engagement, and eco- demically, socially, and physically the neighborhood and give students in nomic activity. Over 30 surveys were competitive and productive adults. It is those areas additional support, both in completed, primarily by residents of widely documented that students from and out of the classroom. the Howard and Tilden houses. low-income and minority backgrounds are far more likely to attend poor per- Community schools have been suc- Based on an analysis of publicly forming schools, limiting college readi- cessful in NYC. available data, meetings with locally ness, and failing to close the achieve- involved organizations such as the ment gap.25 The Children Aid Society operates Brownsville partnership and Municipal 24 American Community Survey, 2012 26 The Children’s Aid Society Art Society (MAS), and several inter- 25 Kahlenberg, 2012 27 Ibid.

At Home in Brownsville 29 Community and Residence

12 Community Schools in the Bronx, of Brownsville, we recommend that our Manhattan and Staten Island based Cornerstone and Beacon client actively pursue the recommen- on the “developmental triangle.” It Program Offerings1 dations made by the 2012 Hunter Col- includes a strong and extended in- Literacy and Enrichment Program: lege “Brownsville Works!” studio. The structional program, extended learn- Financial Literacy, Homework Assis- studio highlighted poor job access in ing opportunities through enrichment tance/Academic Support, Computer Brownsville, the lack of “homegrown” activities, and programs designed to Access, Home Economics, Project- businesses, and inadequate policies remove barriers to student learning based Learning for economic grown and provided rec- and healthy development.28 Cultural Studies and Activities: Arts ommendations for these challenges. and Crafts, Chess Career Awareness and School to To further promote economic develop- Department of Youth & Commu- Work Transition Programs: High ment, we also recommend creating nity Development funded Beacon School/College Prep pathways for business literacy through & Cornerstone programs for out of Community and Civic Engagement a business extension-incubator. New school time programs after school Weekend/Summer Programs York City has been using incubator and on the weekends Sports and Recreation: Dance and spaces in all five boroughs as a way to Our recommendation is to expand the Cheerleading/Stepping, Martial Arts, stimulate local economies and provide existing Beacon and NYCHA Corner- Basketball, and Co-Ed Volleyball people with opportunities to experi- stone programs that collaborate with 1 New York City Department of Youth and ment with and refine business strate- community-based organizations, such Community Development gies without the financial risk of open- as Medgar Evers College, and the ing their own stores.29 The Brownsville NYC Department of Youth and Com- youth in the community. Youths need Works! studio report has previously munity Development. Cornerstone the skills and positive adult role mod- made recommendations to partner Programs are located in New York els that will help them forge a path to with the New York City Economic De- City Housing Authority Community long-term employment and by provid- velopment Corporation (NYCEDC), Centers and provide a wide variety of ing a conduit for Brownsville residents which has already created 15 other youth and adult programing through- to invest in their students, larger por- incubators since 2011, to provide in- out the year. There are currently tions of productive citizens may result. cubator space in Brownsville. We sug- three Cornerstone programs within To build on this recommendation, we gest strengthening that collaboration our study area providing structured suggest a poll of careers interests be by involving Medgar Evers College, an activities. Currently, The Van Dyke undertaken in local schools and at rec- educational institution with a vested Community Center - Cornerstone reational programs in order to match interest in the area, who can potential- Program requires that all participants student interest with the work of local ly provide such space for residents to follow a strict attendance code and resident and affiliates. grow their skills and businesses. are required to participate in at least two programs out of one sport, one BEST PRACTICE: academic enrichment activity, and one Continuing Education & THE ENTERPRISE CENTER youth development or counseling ac- Employment Founded in 1989 by the Wharton tivity. Beacon Programs are school- Small Business Development Cen- based programs for students aged 6 Currently, the Brownsville community ter, The Enterprise Center (TEC) is and older. In Brownsville, Beacons are suffers from a lack of “homegrown” a community incubator and commu- operated by the Police Athletic League businesses—many of the businesses nity extension providing access to (PAL), CAMBA, Inc., and Medgar in the area are owned by non-Browns- capital, building capacity, business Evers College. Participants in a Bea- ville residents. The lack of ownership education and economic develop- con program are required to meet 216 creates a separation between resi- ment opportunities to high-potential, hours per year and must participate in dents and business owners, further minority entrepreneurs. They work in literacy enrichment, health and well- accentuating any distrust in the com- the low-income areas of West Phila- ness, and life skills. Their program- munity. Furthermore, the lack of com- delphia. ming has proven successful, and will mercial ownership in conjunction with serve as a model for the afterschool low levels of educational attainment and out-of-school time programs. limits employment opportunities within An incubator-extension could: the neighborhood. Creation of a pilot Young Adult In- • Consolidate workforce devel- ternship program opment activities in Browns- Our third recommendation for youth in Recommendations ville to teach interview skills, Brownville is the creation of a Young resume writing and connect Adult Internship program that will fo- Create more business education residents with job opportunities cus on the skills gap for disconnected opportunities 29 New York City Economic Development 28 Children’s Aid Society To improve the business environment Corporation

At Home in Brownsville Community and Residence 30

• Provide opportunities for busi- nity Board, and community-based cessible transportation options.30 nesses to train and hire from organizations that give residents an within the community. opportunity to actively participate in is- • Incentivize trade schools and sues affecting their community. By ad- Existing Community skill building through commu- dressing necessary design improve- Facilities and Institutions nity job placement and on-the- ments to existing community facilities, in Brownsville job training residents have a place to better de- Libraries • Widen the awareness of differ- velop leadership skills, promote civic High Schools ent employment industries. responsibility, and better engage resi- Community Centers • Promote avenues for continu- dents. Redesigning these spaces will Studios and Performance ing education in partnership grant communities more usable space Spaces with local universities. to gather and discuss how to further Gardens • Promote economic empower- improve community conditions. ment and business opportuni- ties for Brownsville residents. Missing Communities • Provide credit-granting busi- Promote cooperative planning be- Facilities and Institutions ness classes through an exten- tween civic groups by establishing in Brownsville sion education program steering committees Museums • Incentivize growth by providing We recommend that Community Galleries space, networking, and educa- Board 16 establish community steer- Music or Media production tion/professional development. ing committees. These committees studios • Provide an accepting environ- would strengthen community institu- College ment for residents returning to tions and civic buildings to coopera- the community from incarcera- tively communicate and plan platforms tion so they may gain entrance for open communication and secure In order to achieve more access to into the workforce civic participation. For example, an civic spaces and programs, we rec- employment and development com- ommend enhancing partnerships with mittee could provide support for exist- existing arts stakeholders in Brooklyn, Civic Engagement & Place ing institutions to connect Brownsville such as the Brooklyn Arts Council, a Making residents to needed resources in or- borough wide arts council that pro- der to gain employment. vides grants, presents free and af- Challenges fordable arts events, trains artists and arts professionals, teaches students, The physical design of community Maximize and democratize use incubates projects, and promotes art- spaces inhibits civic engagement. of existing public resources e.g. ists and culture.31 The organization Existing community institutions and school buildings has begun to identify areas of cultural civic organizations often do not col- Elevate existing building to a civic and artistic opportunities for residents laborate or communicate. As a result, center to provide space for commu- to participate in. Additionally, the Pit- there is excessive programming, du- nity events and celebrations kin Avenue Business Improvement plication of services, and no strategies We recommend the creation of a cul- District has commissioned a series of for collaboration, even though there tural district in Brownville, such as that murals to be completed over the next are many programs in Brownville of- in Downtown Brooklyn. Thriving com- two years, further providing youth and fering skills training and educational munities many times retain cultural artists with expressive ways to high- programs. Community Centers, after districts to support the existing con- light community assets.32 school programs, and libraries all offer centration of established and emerg- similar services. Furthermore, existing ing arts organizations, institutions, programs are often in buildings that and facilities, encouraging economic Community Saferty are hard to access and underutilized and cultural development with new because of poor design. art space and streetscape enhance- Challenges ments. There are over 90 such com- munities throughout the United States Community safety, as well as the Recommendations promoting local growth through arts perception of safety, in Brownsville and culture, and while Brownsville is continually regarded as one of the Redesign physical spaces around may lack museums and performing major impediments to lasting change. civic buildings arts centers, there is a great poten- During our survey of the community, We recommend a physical redesign of tial for a growing community of artists over half of the respondents reported the spaces surrounding civic buildings. to flourish due to affordable housing, 30 Thornton, 45 Brownsville has many programs such available space for art studios, and ac- 31 Brooklyn Arts Council as Tenant Associations, the Commu- 32 Groundswell

At Home in Brownsville 31 Community and Residence that they felt generally unsafe in the parents is to use the justice system neighborhood. Statistics from the New Cure Violence Model as an alternative to disciplining their York City Police Department support children, reporting minor domestic is- such perceptions, ranking Brownsville Violence is a disease. The Cure sues, and therefore increasing arrest 2nd highest in prison admissions in all Violence model developed by records for their children. Officers con- of Brooklyn, with a rising gang pres- Gary Slutkin revolutionizes the tinually mentioned such behavior as ence and increased gun violence. An perception and reduction of counterproductive to properly diffusing estimated 1 out of 12 males between violence by promoting a pub- arguments and confrontations, but are 16-24 years old are imprisoned. Fur- lic health and science-based required to comply with the parents’ thermore, NYCHA Housing police and perspective through the under- requests.33 Parents, police officers, those in the 73rd precinct are separat- standing that violence needs and youths should work to establish ed both physically and organization- to be cured in order to stop adequate rapport, only prompting ar- ally, impeding proper communication the metastization. “Cure Vio- rest as a last resort, which can miti- and coordination. Such lack of com- lence” understands that vio- gate unnecessary stresses placed on munication hinders efforts to create a lence persists despite external the police force and community. safe environment for residents, further punishment or moral judgment. limiting the growth of the neighbor- In order to effectively combat Additional approaches to increase hood. peaking societal violence, so- public awareness and insight into the cial norms must be targeted justice system would be for youth to from the source. Looking at vio- participate in the Brownsville Com- Recommendations lence and crime through the a munity Justice Center (BCJC). The health lens, Cure Violence uses Justice Center is dedicated to build- Create safer streets through better a three step approach: ing multiple avenues for young people policing and improving the rapport who come into contact with the justice between police and residence • Interrupt transmission system by providing valuable educa- To create safer streets and improved • Identify and change the tional, occupational, social, and health resident safety—both real and per- thinking of highest po- services at every stage of the judicial ceived—we propose a three-level ap- tential transmitters process.34 Such participation would proach to address problems with po- • Change group norms have the benefits of educating young lice procedures. The first is to change people, as well as providing them with the way policing is handled within the Through the program, members any necessary discipline and guid- community. The second is to increase of community organizations act ance. Furthermore, by increasing youth participation in the justice sys- as mentors for individuals iden- funding for programs in the BCJC, tem, and the third is to address the tified as high-risk for being po- youths would be able to participate neighborhood’s cycle of violence. tentially involved in violent or in the provided programs, such as, criminal activities. Alternatives to Incarceration, Proba- Cure Violence has successfully tion, Youth Court, Fighting Gun Crime, Improve Policing reduced crime and violence in Learning Lab, and Community Ser- Through conversations with police McElderry Park neighborhood vice. 35 officers and community residents, it in Baltimore where shootings was found that rookie cops arrive in and killings dropped nearly Brownsville with little knowledge of 34%, Chicago’s Austin neigh- Shift Group Norms the community and a fear of what they borhood and most recently in In order to have a permanent, long- will encounter. We recommend pairing Red Hook, Brooklyn.1 lasting transition to non-violence, rookie cops with more experienced group norms must be altered. By officers to provide proper on the job 1 Groundswell achieving the previous safety recom- training in addition to the training re- mendations, the prevailing mindsets ceived at the police academy. Further, nity cohesion between residents and towards violence in young adults, chil- combining both the Housing Police officers who are there to protect and dren, and residents will be challenged, and 73rd precinct into one physical serve the community. Such a prac- shifting poor behavior into more pro- department will improve communica- tice should be closely monitored and ductive actions. We propose using tion between the two parties and re- eliminated to enhance trust between the “Cure Violence” model, developed duce avoidable mistakes. Lastly, a officers and residents and reduce the by Doctor Gary Slutkin, a physician, housing officer who chose to remain perceived culture of violence that cur- epidemiologist, and infectious disease nameless suggested that officers are rently exists in Brownsville. control specialist, to address the cul- still expected to fill monthly arrest quo- tas despite the condemnation of such 33 Survey 34 Center for Court Innovation, Brownsville a practice. The existence of such a Youth Participation Community Justice Center quota system combats any commu- An unfortunate practice by community 35 Center for Court Innovation

At Home in Brownsville Community and Residence 32

Image 4: Grocery Store (Blessing Food Corp.) on Rockaway Avenue ture of violence present in the Browns- nutritional food.37 nity, residents must be better equipped ville.36 The model has been success- to make informed health care decisions ful in similarly burdened communities Additionally, the Brownsville Multi- and be able to easily access fresh qual- such as Crown Heights, Baltimore, Service Center (BMS) remains one of ity food. Local grocers, such as Key and Chicago, reducing violence and Brownsville’s only community assets. Food, Food Bazaar and Supermarket crime once chosen as pilot programs. The center provides residents with Associated should apply for funding By implementing a similar approach in much needed medical, dental, and through the Reinvestment Fund for Brownsville, a safer, more hospitable social services. However, while BMS Healthy Food Financing, which offers environment can be created to foster has the capacity to serve a large por- grants to improve energy-efficiency, less violence and more productive resi- tion of the neighborhood’s healthcare equipment, and leasing costs, and dents. needs, many residents do not know therefore, encourages better food sup- how to properly navigate the health- plies. More funding in conjunction with care system and continue to use local New York City’s Food Retail Expansion Health emergency rooms for basic, non-life to Support Health program, which pro- threatening services. Such behavior vides zoning and financial incentives Challenges congests a necessary facility for pa- for businesses to create quality grocery tients with more serious medical needs stores in underserved communities, Health remains a continued challenge and is economically inefficient for the may help Brownsville counteract any for residents of Brownsville. Compared community as a whole. Brookdale Hos- issues with obtaining nutritional food to the rest of New York City, Browns- pital has already been on the verge of options. Together, these grants and ville has the highest rates of infant closure due to financial stress, and im- programs may help to lower costs as- deaths, cancer, heart disease, and pre- properly utilizing the emergency room sociated with obtaining quality produce pregnancy obesity. Poor health levels further complicates those fiscal issues. and food items. are a direct result of inadequate food options and recreational facilities. For instance, 41% of survey respondents Recommendations Provide study area residents with reported they were dissatisfied with tools to navigate healthcare system the grocery options in the study area, Build a Healthier Brownsville by We recommend that BMS, the Depart- claiming high prices and lack of quality, supplying quality food ment of Health, and neighboring hos- In order to achieve a healthier commu- pitals collaborate to conduct regular 36 Slutkin, Gary 37 Department of Health, 2009 health care informational sessions and

At Home in Brownsville 33 Community and Residence provide opportunities for patients to be paired with primary care provid- ers. Navigating the healthcare system is difficult, and by providing residents with pamphlets, informational ses- sions, and community outreach initia- tives people will become more edu- cated on how to properly utilize health care facilities. If outreach is supple- mented with increased interactive pre- ventative health education, Browns- ville residents will have the tools and support needed to live healthier lives.

At Home in Brownsville

NYCHA Challenges and Recommendations NYCHA 36

“Resource shortages aren’t the only recommendations to increase funding serve as a tool for individuals who wish and efficiency, re-brand public hous- to start advocating for reform. While thing we blame for the maintenance ing, and decentralize the management the challenges that NYCHA faces structure. are large, we believe there are some problems. There’s also a tendency possible alternatives that could have We provide this analysis of NYCHA’s large implications for the residents of to do quick fixes rather than real so- challenges and our suggested recom- Brownsville and across the city. mendations with the hopes that it can lutions—like painting over mold— Public Housing History and a staffing structure that leads to Municipal Service: 1934-1968 a lot of “that’s not my department” Public housing started in order to provide a municipal service to the working poor recovering from the Great Depression.1 Federal laws passed in 1930s answers.” - Nyginer Brewer, Langs- provided subsidies to local housing authorities, such as NYCHA, which quickly established itself as a strong advocate for tightly managed, high quality housing.2 ton Hughes resident1 In New York, unlike other municipalities, initially the funding commitments of the city and state rivaled the federal, as substantial local funding streams were established. After World War II, policies such as the GI Bill encouraged returning 1 bkbureau.org (white) veterans to buy homes in the suburbs while preventing residents in urban (minority) areas from receiving mortgages or loans.3 As urban renewal projects were initiated, poorer minorities became concentrated in urban areas, especially in public housing.

Introduction to NYCHA Welfare State: 1968-1990 Challenges and In the late 1960s, the role of public housing shifted. Under pressure from Recommendations advocates, NYCHA relaxed its policies to admit more welfare tenants, federal policies lowered income ceilings for new tenants, and a new city policy As the neighborhood with the larg- gave housing priority to the homeless.4 Rental income decreased, and est concentration of public housing in combined with a divestment of federal funding, aging infrastructure, high the country, Brownsville has a critical inflation, management problems, and increasing expenses, a large funding relationship with NYCHA, the coun- gap developed.5 Maintenance was deferred, while drug usage and violence try’s largest public housing authority. dramatically increased in public housing during this time, further discouraging NYCHA is essential to any discus- working class families from living there and leading to a greater budget deficit.6 sion of Brownsville, in part because the authority plays a myriad of roles In the early 1970s, the Nixon administration froze all federal housing programs, for its residents. To achieve its goal and there was a shift from “bricks and mortar” construction to the use of of providing affordable housing and vouchers, such as Section 8, in the private market to provide subsidized services to low and moderate income housing.7 In the late 1970s, as a result of NYC’s fiscal crisis, 53 state and residents, NYCHA must serve as land- city-aided developments were transferred to federal management under the lord, service provider, developer and Authority Transfer Program (ATP).8 Since the 1980s, federal housing policy has employer. With such a large mandate, consisted of small, scattered site developments and vouchers.9 NYCHA inherently faces a number of challenges, and a steady decrease in Affordable Housing: 1990s- present funding has not made the problems A major goal of NYCHA in the 1990s was to recruit more working class, middle- any easier. income families to live in the public housing communities.10 This mixed income model was a major policy departure from assisting only extremely low-income We have identified the agency’s most families. Public housing is now characterized as “affordable housing,” and the pressing challenges and offer a series goals of this transformation were to correct NYCHA’s massive deficit; promote a of recommendations to address these more permanent view of public housing; and to decrease concentrated poverty.11 issues. The main challenges that 1 bkbureau.org 2 Bloom, 2008 plague NYCHA are: a large budget 3 Stoloff deficiency, poor public perception, lim- 4 WNYC ited resident engagement and central- 5 Stoloff, 11 6 Stoloff, 10 ized management. These challenges 7 Bloom, 2008 have a wide range of implications for 8 McCall, 1999 the residents that live in Brownsville 9 Bloom, 2008 10 Bloom, 2008 and all of NYCHA’s developments. To 11 Bloom, 2008 address these challenges, we offer

At Home in Brownsville Revenue

37 NYCHA

Revenue Public Housing History Continued 2% 5% toIn the 2000s multiple plans to increase financial solvency and improve management were Tenant Revenue introduced—notably the Plan to Preserve Public Housing (2006) and 34% Federal Subsidies the Land Lease Program 32% (2011). In 2013, Public Advocate Section 8 Subsidies Bill de Blasio requested to review NYCHA’s extensive repair backlog, and he later released a report that Section 8 Admin publicly warned the agency against 27% neglecting repairs. As Mayor, Other Revenue de Blasio has promised quicker Expenditures repairs, the elimination of the repair backlog, and to improve the buildings’ environmental standards. He also promised to increase Expenditures tenants in NYCHA’s workforce and increase tenant input into decision- making.12 12 “Safe, Affordable Homes for all New 7% Yorkers“ Salaries & Benefits Contracts NYCHA Budget 30% 39% NYCHA’s most prominent challenge is Utilities their severe budget deficit. We believe that the $469 million dollar deficit is 18% Section 8 Payments the main contributor to NYCHA’s insti- tutional management problems. The 6% Other Expenditures deficit has resulted in broken eleva- tors, the closing of community centers, the scaling back of valuable resident services and growing complaints re- garding vermin, mold and the long wait Operating Budget prised of ‘other revenue’ and Section list for critical repairs.38 If NYCHA’s 8 administrative costs.42 The 2014 budget is not balanced soon, the pos- The majority of NYCHA’s revenue Operating Budget totals at $2.868 bil- sibility of more cuts and deteriorating comes from the collection of tenant lion dollars and consists of three parts: conditions could become a reality for rent, Section 8 and federal subsidies. the General Fund, Housing Choice the NYCHA residents of Brownsville. The majority of their expenditure goes Voucher (HCV) Program Fund and the towards employee salaries and ben- Categorical Grants Fund.43 The Gen- The New York City Housing Authority efits, followed closely by administering eral Fund is comprised of frontline op- Operating and Capital Budgets fund the Section 8 program.40 erations, central office and fieldwork the management, maintenance and support for NYCHA owned or con- construction of the 334 housing devel- NYCHA collects revenue from several trolled housing.44 Frontline operations opments.39 The Operating and Capital sources, which totaled $2.868 billion are staff based at individual NYCHA budgets are not part of the City of New dollars in the 2014 fiscal year.41 Fed- properties and borough offices. They York’s budget and the fiscal year runs eral operating subsidies (27%), tenant include property managers, caretak- concurrent with the calendar year to- revenue (33%) and Section 8 (32%) ers, maintenance workers, housing taling over $2.5 billion dollars annually. make up the majority of the revenue 42 New York City Housing Authority Operating stream. The remaining 7% is com- & Capital Plans, 17 43 Hearing on the 2014 -2018 Oper- 38 Smith, 2012 40 New York City Housing Authority Operating ating and Capital Budget & the Fiscal 2014 39 Hearing on the 2014 -2018 Operating and & Capital Plans, 16 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report, 6 Capital Budget & the Fiscal 2014 Preliminary 41 New York City Housing Authority Operating 44 New York City Housing Authority Operating Mayor’s Management Report, 2014 & Capital Plans, 17 & Capital Plans, 16

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 38 staff and skilled trades. The majority rental costs fluctuate with income. 2013 report that, “federal resources to of NYCHA’s employees and expenses operate, maintain, and preserve public are within frontline operations.45 The fourth component of the operat- housing have failed to keep pace with ing budget is the Categorical Grants increasing needs and rising inflation- The second is the Housing Choice Fund, which is comprised of all other ary costs, thereby placing the portfolio Voucher (HCV) Program Fund, which grant programs that NYCHA receives at risk”.50 includes the administration of the Sec- funding from. This includes federal, tion 8 program. NYCHA administers state, city and private sources. The Plan NYCHA, the Authority’s 2011 the program by paying HUD subsidies City Council financially supports “Roadmap to Preservation,” states: to participating landlords on behalf of NYCHA discretionary funds, which are tenants. Program participants pay rent allocated to each Councilmember, as Since 2002, NYCHA has been de- directly to the landlord while NYCHA well as their Capital budget. The funds prived of approximately $700 mil- pays the landlord the difference to- are used for operating and adminis- lion in operating subsidies due to wards the approved rent on the apart- trating community development and partial funding by Congress. This ment, referred to as the Housing As- benefits programs.47 is in addition to the cumulative sistance Payment, or HAP. NYCHA $700 million deficit of NYCHA’s earns an administrative fee from HUD recently federalized 21 develop- for administration of the program. The Capital Budget ments during this time. More sig- HCV Program also contributes rev- nificantly, there is a $13 billion enue to the General Fund in the form Totaling at $3.921 billion dollars, the dollar gap between what NYCHA of program management fees and 2014 Capital Budget consists of four will receive in capital funding and housing assistance payments (HAP) parts: disaster recovery, federal funds, what its buildings and infrastruc- to Section 8 units that are owned and bond Issues, City funds and other. The ture needs are through 2015.51 managed by NYCHA (referred to as Capital Plan includes a $1.779 billion Section 8 Phased Conversion).46 one time disaster recovery award to According to the Independent Budget address the damage and re-fortifi- Office: NYCHA receives nominal funds from cation of NYCHA buildings located Because the city and state do not rent. Currently, NYCHA residents pay in Flood Zone A. The funding comes provide funds to independently around 30% of their income towards from a combination of grants from support these developments, the rent with an average rent of $414.90 the Federal Emergency Management federal funds intended to cover per month. There are three types of Agency (FEMA), Community Devel- the 315 federal developments are rent structures, and NYCHA residents opment Block Grants (CDBG) and in- being stretched to cover the costs currently change their method of pay- surance payments.48 In 2013, NYCHA to maintain all of NYCHA’s devel- ment once a year (or more if there is a generated about $476 million in bonds opments. In addition, the develop- documented financial hardship). to fund repairs to deteriorating building ments are missing out on $20 mil- exteriors and utility systems at public lion in capital financing that they The three types of rent structures of- housing developments citywide. Rev- would receive were they federal fered by NYCHA are flat, ceiling, and enue from this bond issuance pro- developments”.52 income based rents. Flat rents are vided a dedicated stream of funds to based on market rates, and therefore address repairs needed to structural From 2001 to 2013, annual federal rental costs do not vary with income. components of the building stock. capital subsidies have decreased The unit rent price reflects the price 39%, from $420 million to about $250 for comparable units on the private million. Plan NYCHA cites ongoing market. This structure serves to en- Budget Challenges: Lack structural operating deficits resulting courage tenants to achieve economic of Federal Funding and from anticipated federal funding levels self-sufficiency because rent does not Rising Costs of approximately 92% of funding for- increase as incomes do. Ceiling rents mula eligibility; providing NYCHA ap- are a cap on the amount of rent a fam- NYCHA’s General Fund relies heav- proximately $80 million less operating ily or individual can be charged, and ily on subsidies from the federal gov- subsidy than it is eligible for each year. they are cost-based rather than mar- ernment, as the Authority does not ket based. Ceiling rents can be used receive predictable or consistent sub- The Operating Plan specifies prob- to attract higher income families. Fi- sidies from the city or state. About lems created by unsustainable spend- nally, income based rents are based 40% of the General Fund and 100% ing on the budget, mainly the un- on a certain percentage of a family’s of the Section 8 Program comes from derfunding of public housing by the income, usually 30%, and therefore federal subsides.49 NYCHA cites in a federal government and the increas- 47 New York City Housing Authority Operating & Capital Plans, 25 45 “Reshaping NYCHA’s Central Support & Capital Plans, 16 50 New York City Housing Authority Operating Functions”, NYCHA 48 New York City Housing Authority Operating & Capital Plans, 5 46 New York City Housing Authority Operating & Capital Plans, 5 51 Plan NYCHA, 5 & Capital Plans, 15 49 New York City Housing Authority Operating 52 IBO Web Blog, 2014

At Home in Brownsville 39 NYCHA ing cost of employee entitlements we recommend that the City Council programs to support “cradle to career” (also referred to as “uncontrollable authorize a dedicated funding stream education via the Department of Edu- costs”). In 2012 NYCHA was informed for NYCHA’s operational costs, which cation; public safety programming via by the New York City Employees’ Re- would include funds for participatory the Justice Department; and public tirement System that a 26% increase budgeting. We are also proposing health improvements via the Depart- ($31 million dollars) in annual contri- changes to the rent structures in order ment of Health and Human Services. butions was required to continue fund- to provide more flexibility for tenants Overall, this contributes to a holisti- ing the program.53 Combined with in- and consistency for NYCHA. Finally, cally healthier and more vibrant com- flation, NYCHA cites that costs such we recommend that NYCHA end pay- munity.58 as pension benefits, health insurance ments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), which and workers’ compensation contribute would save approximately $100M an- Cradle to Career to the adding instability of the budget. nually. NYCHA predicts that these costs will The Department of Education’s rise 9% annually.54 Promise Neighborhoods program Increase and Reorganize Federal promotes “cradle to career” educa- In addition to insufficient federal fund- Budget tional support in distressed neigh- ing and rising employee costs, items borhoods. “The vision of the pro- such as utilities weigh heavy on We recommend that the federal gov- gram is that all children and youth NYCHA’s budget. In 2013, NYCHA ernment increase funding for pub- growing up in Promise Neigh- spent 17% of the operating budget on lic housing overall, and especially borhoods have access to great electricity, water, gas, steam and fuel in highly concentrated areas like schools and strong systems of oil.55 As the building stock ages and re- Brownsville. The federal contribution family and community support that quires more upkeep, it also becomes towards bricks and mortar housing will prepare them to attain an ex- less energy efficient. Plan NYCHA developments must be increased to cellent education and successfully also states that the “combination of maintain proper living standards and transition to college and a career.”1 escalating energy expenses, along ensure affordable housing is avail- The program aims to build a con- with boilers and ancillary heating sys- able to New York City’s residents. We tinuous support network of high tems that have exceeded their useful believe that these funding changes performing schools, additional life, make it important that NYCHA in- would be possible in tandem with a educational programs, and fam- vest in energy retrofit and upgrades. public housing awareness campaign, ily involvement to foster children NYCHA spends approximately $500 which is discussed below in the Re- from birth to a fulfilling career. million a year on energy costs, which Branding Public Housing section of 1 Department of Education could be used elsewhere if we were to the report. reduce our usage.”56 We also recommend that specific HUD Reinstate State and City Funding In summary, NYCHA’s budget is a se- programs, such as the Choice Neigh- and Subsidies vere challenge that has wide-ranging borhoods Program, part of Obama’s implications for residents. Neighborhood Revitalization Initia- City and state governments should fi- tive, be implemented in Brownsville. nancially support their housing units. The program focuses on replacing However, state funding for public NYCHA outdated housing with well-managed, housing was eliminated in 1998.59 Recommendation: mixed-income developments, while New York State should contribute to Increase Funding incentivizing investment to improve providing affordable housing for its neighborhood amenities such as residents. Governor Cuomo recently We recommend decreasing the bud- schools, safety, and commercial de- agreed to fund statewide universal get deficiency by increasing funding velopment. Selected communities are pre-k education using existing re- opportunities. First, we recommend issued grants of $200,000 and more to sources.60 We recommend a similar an increase in funding at the federal, develop local ‘transformation plans,” proposal be devised to fund public state and city levels. Existing federal or “comprehensive neighborhood re- housing repairs, renovations, and pro- programs that specifically target low- vitalization plans,” ensuring that there gramming improvements. income neighborhoods should be im- is a high level of community engage- plemented, and state and city govern- ment in the redevelopment process.57 There is no dedicated funding stream ments should resume paying for units for NYCHA’s operational costs.61 under their jurisdiction. In addition, The Choice Neighborhood Program We recommend that the City Coun- 53 New York City Housing Authority Operating provides targeted investment in cil authorize a dedicated line item for & Capital Plans, 7 Brownsville’s youth, education, hous- 58 “Choice Neighborhoods”, HUD 54 Five Year Operating Plan, 5 ing, and other neighborhood ameni- 59 Independent Budget Office, 2006 55 Five Year Operating Plan, 25 60 Kaplan, 2014 56 NYCHA News: NYCHA Joins Other City ties. Choice Neighborhoods access 61 “Testimony for NYCHA Chair and CEO Agencies In Effort to Lower Energy Use, 2014 57 HUD Shola Olatoye”, 2014

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 40

NYCHA’s operating budget. By having promoted by Community Board 16 to dancies and save NYCHA even more a consistent funding stream, NYCHA help increase NYCHA’s overall fund- money to put towards capital and op- will be able to continue to work through ing. This would encourage timely rent erational expenses.62 their repair backlog and improve the payments, and offer more flexibility housing developments without hav- for tenants. We recommend that our ing to worry about income variations client encourage the practice of us- PILOTs are made to compensate from year to year. This Council fund- ing different rent structures to create a local government for some or ing should also include an allotment mixed income community not only in all of the tax revenue that it loses for participatory budgeting, discussed NYCHA, but also in potential new af- because of the nature of the own- in more detail later in this report. fordable housing developments. By ership or use of a particular piece maintaining diverse rent structures, of real property. NYCHA pays for We recommend that NYCHA continue there is potential to create a more di- police and sanitation services, issuing bonds to support its aging in- verse mixed income community. This despite the fact that these same frastructure. The repair and replace- would foster economic stability for NYPD and DSNY services are ment of building-wide utility systems NYCHA, and more economic oppor- provided to private landlords and aided in addressing the underlying tunities in general for the Brownsville nonprofit housing providers for conditions that can be the root cause community. free.1 of many of NYCHA’s maintenance is- sues. These types of problems must 1 Jones, 2013 be addressed before making invest- End Payments in Lieu of Taxes ments in building components such as elevators, bathrooms, kitchens, inter- We also recommend ending the pay- Increase Efficiency coms, heating, plumbing and electrical ments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) that systems. NYCHA pays for police and sanitation. NYCHA can increase its efficiency in Mayor De Blasio has already elimi- three ways: decreasing contractual nated the allotment for housing police, services, increasing energy efficiency, Promote Various Rent Structures and we support eliminating the sani- and conducting an extensive audit to tation costs as well. We believe that uncover waste, inefficiencies redun- Various rent structures should be an audit could expose similar redun- 62 Angotti, 24

Image 4: job advocates. Source: flickr.com

At Home in Brownsville 41 NYCHA dancies. Some examples of NYCHA’s We recommend that NYCHA issue a where cost-saving measures could be inefficiencies that the Boston Consult- bond specifically for energy efficiency taken, as well as the areas that would ing Group report uncovered include upgrades. While investing in high ef- most benefit from targeted cash flow. spending $5M on a storage facility ficiency appliances and improving City Comptroller Scott Stringer has holding only $10M worth of materials, building weatherization has large up- initiated an audit and we welcome and paying “anywhere from $8 to $28 front costs, NYCHA will save money his findings, but we also believe that per gallon for white paint, rather than on operational costs in the long term. NYCHA should employ a Forensic Ac- finding the best deal.” Additionally, countant to perform these services on the 2011 report offered multiple ways NYCHA should pursue additional a regular basis. for NYCHA to cut expenses and in- funding through the NY State Energy crease revenues-- $125M in all. They Research and Development Author- recommended $20M in savings just ity (NYSERDA). NYSERDA funding A Forensic Accountant is of- from streamlining NYCHA’s system of could outfit Brownsville developments ten retained to analyze, interpret, warehouses and storerooms.63 with energy efficient measures. One summarize and present complex example is Wireless Energy Modules, financial and business issues in which were recently installed in the a manner that is understandable Contractual Services Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx. These to the general public. Forensic monitor apartment temperatures, volt- Accountants can be engaged in We recommend that NYCHA increase age, and energy demand. This project public practice or employed by the number of tenant employees rath- also created green construction jobs insurance companies, banks, er than relying on contractual services. via NYCHA’s Resident Employment government agencies and other By contracting with outside agencies, Services program, an additional ben- organizations. These special- NYCHA sends funds outside of its efit of increasing energy efficiency.66 ized accountants investigate and community, while depriving tenants of analyze financial evidence, de- training and experience that could as- BEST PRACTICES: velop different types of analysis sist them with gaining employment. By Wireless Energy Modules in Cas- in order to present findings in the increasing tenant employees NYCHA tle Hill Houses form of reports and presentations. will reduce expenditures, provide jobs In 2009, NYCHA selected Castle and training to residents, and enable Hill Houses in the Bronx for a com- residents to increase their incomes.64 plete energy upgrade—eight energy The retention of a Forensic Accoun- We recommend that existing job train- efficient boilers, 14 instantaneous tant on staff at NYCHA may be able to ing programs described in the Com- water heaters, 4,000 energy effi- assist in efficiency and other problem munity and Residence Recommenda- cient florescent fixtures, and over areas of NYCHA’s budget. At Toronto tions section of the report expand to 17,000 energy efficient light bulbs. Community Housing, a Chief Internal serve more residents. The improvements will save each Auditor with a specialized background household $112 annually and pro- in forensic accounting sits on the Ex- duce “green” jobs, of which 30 per- ecutive Leadership Team and assists Energy Efficiency cent will be set aside for residents in the most productive administration of Castle Hill.1 The upgrade cost of the budget. We recommend that NYCHA take $17.6M, but will save taxpayers an steps to increase the energy efficien- estimated $1.4M and prevent over cy of its developments and grounds. 5,000 tons of greenhouse gases Re-Branding Public Energy costs continue to climb, and from entering the atmosphere an- Housing energy efficiency is more important nually. A similar initiative could be than ever in today’s unpredictable cli- undertaken in the Brownsville de- NYCHA’s funding difficulties are close- mate. All of NYCHA’s developments velopments to improve energy ef- ly related to public perceptions of pub- currently participate in Consolidated ficiency and provide residents with lic housing. As negative stereotypes, Edison’s Multi-Family Low Income employment opportunities.2 such that public housing residents are Program, which covers 100 percent lazy and undeserving, pervade the of the cost of high efficiency boilers, 1 Beekman, 2009 news media and political debates,67 2 DeMichele, 2010 furnaces, and other building weather- there is little public support or political ization measures.65 Additional funding will to increase funding, despite the is needed in order to modernize all of desperate need. the developments. Audit To address the issues of public per- We recommend that an audit of ception, we recommend the develop- 63 Smith, 2012 NYCHA’s budget, programs, and man- ment of an advocacy group to work to 64 Angotti, 16 65 “Process Evaluation Report for Con Edison’s agement be undertaken to determine 67 Goodyear “Selling the Public on Public Multi-Family Low Income Program” 66 DeMichele Housing”

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 42 re-brand public housing, which would focused on a re-branding campaign funding for public housing residents. serve to increase the funding to pub- for public housing. This group would The organization should organize lic housing. This would occur through work to highlight a new narrative about Brownsville residents to participate in a public relations campaign and also the individuals who live in public hous- public housing lobby days in Albany involve active lobbying. There are ing by developing and coordinating a and Washington. Busloads of public many successful hard-working people public relations campaign. Advertise- housing residents speaking directly in public housing in NYC and Browns- ments, interviews, and videos could to legislators is an important way to ville. A model story is in the box below. tell these stories and shift public per- build a constituency of public housing Neighborhood success stories need to ception. In particular, we think high- residents that will affect funding lev- be heard.68 lighting celebrities that have grown up els. Forging deeper relationships with in public housing could also help the elected officials, and holding public public relations campaign. Campaigns rallies, press conferences and other Neighborhood Highlight: Lori like this have existed before, such as events to highlight the deteriorat- Boozer was born and raised in the Rethink campaign (see box to the ing conditions in NYCHA’s properties Brownsville public housing. She right), which advertises the success would help to both engage NYCHA attended Brooklyn public schools, stories from public housing. However, residents and bring residents needs earned an academic scholarship to we think that an organization founded into the political mainstream. With- Vassar College, and later attended by public housing residents would be out an activated constituency to hold Boston College Law School. more effective. elected officials accountable, the po- During law school, Lori became en- litical will to increase funding for public grossed in public service and social BEST PRACTICE: housing will never exist. justice issues and upon graduation Public Housing PR Campaign pursued a career in public service. ReThink is a public awareness While we recommend that the orga- She accepted a judicial clerkship initiative that promotes the posi- nization start in Brownsville, we envi- in the Superior Court of New Jer- tive people and stories that result sion that it would ultimately work with sey—Criminal division in Newark, from the benefit of public housing. groups from across the country to New Jersey. This opportunity to ReThink hopes to encourage sup- become a national organization. As a observe the criminal justice sys- port for public housing, families, unified entity, this organization could tem in a low-income and underrep- communities, education and other more powerfully lobby for increased resented community inspired Lori programs that promote community funding for public housing across the to return home. Accordingly, Lori stability. The organization part- country and effectively coordinate a took a position as a Housing Spe- nered with celebrity spokesperson, public relations campaign. Ultimately, cialist with the Urban Resource singer-songwriter Jewel, who grew this helps create sustainable funding Institute, working with survivors of up in public housing, to act as their levels for NYCHA and Brownsville. domestic violence and advocating public face. Along with Jewel, Re- on the city- and state-level for fair Think features videos of the many rent control laws. She now works successful people who grew up NYCHA Challenge: Housing Court Answers, where in, live and raise families in public Centralized Management she has helped countless families. housing. ReThink uses free me- In addition to her professional ac- dia tools like Youtube, Facebook One of NYCHA main challenges is a complishments, Lori has been and Twitter to spread their mes- highly centralized management struc- an active member in her commu- sage and makes their presence ture. There is great variety in NYCHA’s nity and her church, serving as a known at any housing related me- properties, as developments in Staten strategic consultant for several dia events, Federal Housing lobby Island are distinct from those in East Brownsville non-profits. She is cur- days and national conferences. Harlem, both in physical form and in rently running for public office.1 the populations served. While the ma- jority of the buildings are home to a 1 “Lori Bozer Democrat for New York Actively Lobby for Increased general population with a wide range State Assembly 55th District” http://www. loriboozer.com/ Funding for NYCHA of ages, there are also developments targeted for seniors who have distinct While public perception of public needs.69 Thus, there is a diversity of housing is related to a lack of political needs from the various developments, Creation of Non-Profit to will to increase funding, the lack of a yet we believe the management struc- Coordinate Re-branding Campaign strong public housing constituency to ture fails to adequately address this convince legislators that their needs variety, which decreases operational We recommend the development of deserve attention is also a problem. efficiency and flexibility. We argue a non-profit organization comprised In addition to a public relations cam- 69 “Community Programs and Services: Senior of public housing residents and allies paign, the newly formed organization Services”, NYCHAhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/ 68 “Re-thinking Housing.”, rethinkhousing.org needs to actively lobby for increased nycha/html/community/senior_services.shtml

At Home in Brownsville 43 NYCHA that centralized management proves to be a particular challenge in relation to maintenance issues, application and eligibility processes, and pro- grams and services offered to NYCHA residents. Furthermore, a centralized dual management system creates structural conflicts within the manage- ment. Finally, a centralized manage- ment system also produces a lack of meaningful tenant participation and control.70

Maintenance: Centralized Repair Hotline with Long Wait Times

One of the main problems with a cen- tralized management structure can be seen through issues with building maintenance. Problems that need re- pair in individual apartment units are handled through a centralized repair hotline.71 First, the reported condition Image 5: damage concrete. Source: marktreygerforcouncil.com from the centralized hotline has to be determined if it is an emergency, as different procedures exist for both Centralized Application Process proved for eligibility, applicants select emergency and non-emergency con- and Eligibility two borough preferences, but are not ditions. Non-emergencies require NYCHA’s application process, eligi- permitted to request any individual de- that NYCHA staff verify the condition bility and rent calculation regulations velopments. The uniform application in person, which not only reinforces are standardized throughout the city, and eligibility procedures reduce flex- distrust between management and despite serving a widely diverse popu- ibility for NYCHA. residents, but also is inefficient. Some lation. NYCHA’s application process repairs require skilled labor, while oth- is available on-line, and computer ers do not and skilled repairs can take kiosks are available in centralized Centralized Programs and Services over 100 days to be fixed, according to locations for individuals who do not NYCHA,72 and much longer according have computer access. Non-citizens NYCHA’s programs and services are to residents.73 While this type of repair are allowed to apply, but at least one also highly centralized. NYCHA funds reporting system ensures a central- member of the household must be various programs and services, most ized record of all complaints, repairs either a citizen or a legal permanent of which support the entire NYCHA are simply not being performed in an resident. As of March 2014, the wait community. NYCHA offers art pro- adequate period of time. As NYCHA’s list for public housing has 247,262 grams, education programs, equal physical infrastructure is aging, re- families.74 While there are regulations opportunity services for entry appli- pairs will continue to be a major issue, specifying priorities for certain groups cations, family services, a fatherhood and it is imperative for NYCHA to es- of residents in dire situations such as initiative, a garden program, health tablish effective protocols to quickly victims of domestic violence or indi- services, music programs, performing resolve maintenance concerns. The viduals displaced from government- arts programs, recreation programs, current centralized system for repairs ordered vacates,75 even these indi- the Resident Economic Empower- is unsuccessful, as evidenced by long viduals have been waiting for as long ment and Sustainability (REES), Se- wait times for repairs and must be as a decade.76 For all of NYCHA cam- nior Services, sports programs and remedied. puses, eligibility is set at $47,000 for a studio NYCHA, which hosts a variety single person and $67,100 for a family of arts programs.78 For a full list of the four.77 Applicants whose income falls 55 programs and services offered by 70 “NYCHA Fact Sheet.” below these amounts are required to NYCHA please refer to item B in the 79 71 “Customer Contact Center.“ have an eligibility interview. Once ap- appendix. 72 “NYCHA Maintenance & Repair Backlog 74 “NYCHA Fact Sheet.“ Action Plan.” 75 “Applying for Public Housing: Priority NYCHA’s programs attempt to service 73 NYCHA WatchList: Tracking Repairs in New Codes.” York City Public Housing. Office of the Public 76 Goldensolhn, 2014 78 NYCHA Advocate. 77 “Applying for Public Housing: Income Limits” 79 NYCHA

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 44 too many residents, and thereby ser- opposition. This creates structural able control over what occurs at all of vice too few. Forty-three of the fifty- problems as the Chair and General the NYCHA developments throughout five programs offered are designed to Managers are focused on potentially the city the undemocratic process of service the entire NYCHA community conflicting agendas.83 selection is problematic. Unlike other collectively. For example, someone in- city agencies, NYCHA has a direct terested in getting involved in the Youth constituency, and for this reason we Chorus, would be competing with the Lack of Meaningful believe that an elected Board of Direc- all other 8-21-year-olds in NYCHA for Tenant Control and tors would be more appropriate. a spot.80 Furthermore, entering the Participation process for entering the Youth Chorus, along with other programs is not made NYCHA’s centralized structure affects Lack of Quality Resident clear. On top of this, the Youth Cho- ability of residents to exert control over Engagement rus, along with many other programs, their surroundings due to the structure meets in Manhattan.81 This decreases of the Board of Directors and also im- While there are various formal av- accessibility to NYCHA residents who pacts the quality of tenant participa- enues for tenant participation, true live in outer boroughs as they will have tion. resident engagement remains a prob- longer commute times. In addition, the lem in the NYCHA developments. A distance could be more burdensome majority of developments have a Ten- for the elderly, and parents with un- Undemocratic Control: Mayoral Ap- ant Association, which works on local conventional work hours might not pointees level issues that effect specific devel- have time to bring their kids to these opments, such as advocating for se- programs. The existing centralized management curity cameras. Each Tenant Associa- system is undemocratic and reduces tion elects a President, who then must With about 80% of NYCHA’s pro- already poor resident engagement. serve as a member of one of nine Dis- grams being offered to a population NYCHA’s 7-member Board of Direc- trict Councils, who work on regional of 400,000, the services are not meet- tors are all mayoral appointees, only issues. Brownville is in the Brooklyn ing their full potential. In trying to ser- three of whom are tenant representa- East District Council. Every District vice everyone, these programs only tives, yet their decisions affect over Council elects a President, who is also service a few. Furthermore, entering, 400,000 residents.84 While the board a member of the Citywide Council of enrolling and traveling far distances to has seen significant change in the Presidents (CCOP), which works with attend programs can be burdensome, past two years, it still produces an un- senior NYCHA staff on issues that af- especially for tenants living in the out- democratic system of control since the fect all NYCHA developments, includ- er boroughs. mayor appoints all members. Since ing city, state and federal issues. In 1958 until last year, NYCHA had four addition to the CCOP, there is another board members, three of whom were citywide NYCHA tenant group, the Centralized Dual Management full-time, and highly paid, which in- Resident Advisory Board (RAB). The Structure cluded the services of a chauffeur. In RAB consists of all nine members of addition, there was one part-time vol- the CCOP, plus 81 additional mem- Not only is NYCHA run in a centralized unteer tenant representative.85 In 2012 bers elected from the District Coun- manner, it also has a dual manage- then-Manhattan Borough President cils. The RAB advises on NYCHA’s ment structure. The Chair of the Board Scott Stringer issued a report calling Annual and Five-Year Capital plans.88 of Directors is appointed by the Mayor for reform to the NYCHA Board of Di- These formal structures are important and officially runs NYCHA, but the rectors.86 This action required state for residents to have a voice in their mayor also appoints a General Man- approval and in June 2013, the State communities, yet true resident en- ager who is responsible for day-to-day Legislature passed a bill allowing the gagement remains a problem.89 Most activities.82 Unlike most city depart- removal of the Authority’s full-time of the individuals involved in the vari- ments, which have one commissioner board positions, and raised the num- ous tenant groups are seniors, and who oversees all operations, NYCHA ber of commissioners to seven with many others feel left out of the system. has two parallel management struc- three part-time members and three NYCHA must work to improve partici- tures. This creates inherent problems. tenant representatives.87 Thus, while pation from a wider range of individu- While the Chair is in charge of policy, the composition of the board is much als to have more meaningful resident communications, and external affairs, improved as it now has three tenants engagement. Structures for participa- all of the day-to-day operations report on the board, the mayor still selects the tion are not the problem, but the qual- directly to the General Manager. Of- members. As the Board has consider- ity of engagement must be a priority. ten, day-to-day operations and larger 83 Interview with NYCHA Staff, March 5, 2014 policy and political concerns are in 84 “NYCHA Fact Sheet.” NYCHA’s centralized management 85 Smith, 2013 80 NYCHA 86 Manhattan Borough President Scott 88 “Residents’ Corner. Resources: Tenant As- 81 NYCHA Stringer. 2012 sociations.”, NYCHA 82 “NYCHA Organizational Chart” 87 Smith, 2013 89 Villano & Youdelman, 2010

At Home in Brownsville 45 NYCHA system hurts the residents and ig- management including but not limited linquency rate compared to NYCHA’s nores the individualized needs of pub- to, resident recruitment, eligibility, se- 11%. At the same time, these hous- lic housing residents. lection, move-in logistics, residency, ing authorities have comparable bad rent collection, building maintenance, debt hovering around 1%.91 Similar and human resources.90 Local offices to the Boston Consulting, we suggest Recommendations: should also be responsible for provid- NYCHA decentralize “property-level NYCHA Decentralization ing space for community programing. ownership and decision-making.”92 We recommend local offices increase We recommend that NYCHA devolve resident engagement by hiring from A decentralized management struc- the landlord and community orga- their tenant base, and making a por- ture would aid the efficiency of build- nizer roles to local branches; this will tion of their budget available for par- ing repairs and reduce wait times. increase management efficiency by ticipatory budgeting. While the current system assures a reducing the bureaucratic nature of central record of all necessary re- NYCHA. NYCHA’s new “headquar- pairs, the execution of the repairs is ters” role should shift to focus more Operational Management-Building severely slow and inefficient. If, in- on policy, increasing funding and sup- Maintenance, Occupancy and Rent stead, each development was respon- porting local offices. The suggested Collection sible for their repairs, tracking repairs changes are expected to improve Devolution of operational manage- could be streamlined, and travel times the quality of housing and reduce the ment can increase efficiency. Accord- would be reduced. PHA’s that manage amount of labor needed to manage ing to the Boston Consulting Group’s locally have no backlog for mainte- NYCHA. Furthermore, these changes report on NYCHA, the more success- nance and repair, and tend to address are expected to increase local en- ful public housing authorities (PHAs) issues between 7-24 days compared gagement in public housing issues. have more localized management, to NYCHA’s 100 plus days.93 These expectations are based on the including the management of prop- experience of devolved housing au- erty, resident relation issues, rent Locally managed housing can in- thorities nationally and internationally. collection, and re-certification. Fur- crease community engagement. In thermore, best practice PHAs tend to Ontario, Canada, devolution enabled localize maintenance issues such as local service providers the opportu- NYCHA Local Offices apartment inspections, scheduling, nity to “develop better policy and op- resource deployment, first line main- erational practices.”94 The local serv- We recommend that NYCHA create tenance, preventive maintenance, ers were able to customize the needs local offices for individual or groups of and apartment turnovers. This type 91 Boston Consulting Group, 33 NYCHA developments. Each local of- of management has a 3-5% rent de- 92 Boston Consulting Group, 33 fice will be responsible for operational 93 Boston Consulting Group, 33 90 Metropolitan Planning Council 94 Schuk, 17 NYCHA&

NYCHA& Local&Offices& Headquarters&

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Local&Office& Opera>onal& Local& Larger&Policy& Support& Management& Employment&

Community& Funding& Management& Building& Liability&Issues& Rent&Collec>on& Programming& Framework& Occupancy& Domes>c& Par>cipatory& Violence& Transparency&&& Distribu>ng& Budge>ng& Reloca>on& Accountability& Funding& Development&of& New&Property& with&NYC&HPD&

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 46 of their specific neighborhood. In the managed buildings. During annual budgeting, as $5 million is apportioned case of Ontario, devolution enabled inspections public housing managed for their 58,500 families to determine stronger leverage of community re- by tenants performed well with resi- where these funds will be directed.103 sources.95 This is especially important dent move-outs, maintenance, main- for a neighborhood like Brownsville, tenance staffing, operating costs, and The first step of any participatory bud- which would benefit from more com- tenants perceived quality of life.99 Ten- get process is to hold meetings to munity ownership and participation. ant management needs to be brought identify various projects that the funds NYCHA’s one-size fits all approach do back to the forefront of public housing could go towards. After a series of not consider the unique circumstance policy. NYCHA headquarters needs to meetings, organized residents of the of largely varying communities in NYC. set aside funding to reinvigorate this developments would vote to direct initiative. funds to projects they felt were most pressing. Not only would this work to Community Programming In the United Kingdom, tenant man- improve resident engagement and To reconnect programs with the com- agement continues to see support in empowerment in every development, munity, we recommend that program- the government. In Southwark, Lon- it also addresses the most urgent is- ming be developed at local offices. don residents can apply for different sues facing NYCHA’s aging infrastruc- Programming decision should be grants that provide consultants who ture as identified by residents. decided by local offices with commu- serves as advisors to support tenant nity input. In the case of Brownsville, involvement. An advisor can “identify suggested programming is described local issues, provide training and ex- NYCHA Headquarters throughout the Community and Resi- plain empowerment options.”100 Alter- dence Recommendations section of natively, advisors can train residents Decentralization of local housing man- the report. Local offices should include for tenant management. Advisors can agement will free up NYCHA head- provision of community spaces in their also support tenant managers during quarters to focus on larger policy is- property management. The space their new position. While we are not sues, domestic violence relocation made available should be reflective suggesting tenant management in the and funding. Furthermore the head- of community needs and requests. To same format as in the UK, (where ten- quarters will act as a support system ensure a constant stream of commu- ants are the sole managers), we are for local offices by creating a manage- nication between local offices and the suggesting that tenants be hired by ment framework, hiring headquarters tenant community, we suggest local NYCHA to manage and support local employees and handling any liabil- offices employ from their tenant base, development office functions. In this ity issues. To ensure accountability, and portion of funding be available for scenario, similar grants for job training benchmarks with rewards should be participatory budgeting. would still be applicable. set in place for local offices. These recommendations are based on the success and failures of other public Employing From Tenant Base Participatory Budgeting housing internationally. Employing from a tenant base increas- We believe that the NYCHA Capi- es tenant participation and can even tal budget should allocate a sizeable increase management efficiency.96 annual contribution to go towards A Unified Entity While the success of tenant manage- participatory budgeting to empower One division in NYCHA headquarters ment to increase resident engagement residents and address a wide range will focus on larger public housing is- has been debated,97 hiring residents of needs within each NYCHA develop- sues. First there should be a unit that offers opportunities for employment, ment. Participatory budgeting was first focuses on larger policy needs. Policy economic mobility, and potentially also undertaken in Brazil but has become issues should consider eviction, fair well-managed buildings. popular in cities across the world as wage, procurement, tenant transfer, as a way for residents to engage directly well as human rights, harassment and Tenant management has a precedent in allocating money and setting priori- fair access. We suggest this based off of success in the US. In the past, fed- ties for projects that deserve financial of the types of policies devised by the eral funding made tenant manage- investment.101 Precedent for participa- Toronto Community Housing Corpora- ment programs popular. However, the tory budgeting exists in the New York tion.104 Second, there should continue tenant management programs were City Council as several Council Mem- to be a unit that focuses on domestic “not promoted vigorously” and fizzled bers have used their discretionary violence relocation. We are recom- out during the Clinton administration.98 funding for participatory budgeting.102 mending that this function stay cen- While generally successful, these Not only is there local precedent, but tralized. This way headquarters can programs do require increased fund- Toronto Public Housing has also been act as liaison between different local ing for initial training, but lead to well- a successful model for participatory offices, and therefore relocate tenants 95 Schuk, 17 99 Etek, 6-7 96 Etek, 6-7 100 Southwark Council 103 Participatory Budgeting (PB), Toronto 97 Peterman, 487 101 Cabannes, 2004 Community Housing 98 Peterman, 477 102 “Participatory Budgeting in New York City.” 104 Toronto Community Housing Corporation

At Home in Brownsville 47 NYCHA outside of their existing community cial capabilities of local offices. These voucher recipients moving to low-pov- district. Lastly, NYCHA should focus recommendations are based on the erty and non-minority neighborhoods, on increasing funding, and efficiency strengths and weakness found with as well as racial and economic mix of as outlined in the funding section of the decentralization of public housing assisted developments. The fourth op- this report. Furthermore, they should in Ontario.105 Placing liability issues in portunity for benchmarking is a local devise a plan for funding distribution to the hands of headquarters could lead offices ability to help households build local offices. We recommend that this to accountability issues. For this rea- wealth. This can include the number be done based on the number of ten- son we recommend the creation of a of tenants that become homeowners. ants a local office has, the number and transparency and accountability unit The fifth opportunity for benchmark- size of apartment units, and the exist- at NYCHA headquarters. ing is the ability to strengthen families, ing conditions of the buildings. With a which could be marked by the number division focused on larger public hous- of families reunifying. It could also be ing issues, another division can focus A Demonstrator of Transparency recognized by the number of assisted on supporting the local offices. and Accountability households moving from welfare to To maintain accountability, local of- work. A sixth opportunity for bench- While the Chair of the Board of Di- fices should report data to the NYCHA marking is the local offices opportunity rectors would continue to oversee headquarters and be rewarded on to link housing with essential support- NYCHA headquarters, the need for a meeting benchmarks set by head- ive services, including the number of General Manager would be eliminat- quarters. Local offices must collect units with transitional services, or the ed, as these functions would be taken data and publicly publish information number of nonprofits serving special care of at the local level, and the Chair online through a database established needs-populations.108 would ultimately oversee all of the lo- by NYCHA headquarters, on a bi- cal offices. While local offices should monthly basis. This creates a strong Long-term benchmarks should be report to members of headquarters, incentive for effective performance.106 achieved between five to twenty years. the decentralization of the entire agen- Furthermore, we suggest that pay- Benchmarking categories would be cy would eliminate the dual manage- ments or bonuses be explicitly tied to the same as short-term benchmarks, ment structure. the achievement of measurable per- however the expectations would be formance targets.107 These payments different.109 Quantitative expectations Another function that NYCHA head- or bonuses could be based on short should be decided relative to quantita- quarters should perform is administer- term and long-term benchmarks. tive numbers found during the first or ing tenant election to vote for a Board second benchmarking period. of Directors. While the Mayor could still Short-term benchmarks should be appoint a Commissioner, as occurs in met between one and five years and every other city agency, the Board of include a multitude of topics. The first NYCHA’s Future Housing Directors should be an elected body, benchmarks could be made for the Projects and HPD determined by NYCHA residents. This preservation, expansion and supply will increase resident engagement and of quality housing. This can be dem- We recommend NYCHA work with provide for more democratic means of onstrated by the number of units built NYC’s Housing Preservation and De- control. or rehabilitated, number of units im- velopment agency to develop future proved or upgraded and the share of property. Under Mayor Bill De Blasio, new units affordable for very low, low- NYCHA and HPD are working to- A Support System for Local Offices , and moderate-income households. gether to develop 6,000 new afford- A second division at NYCHA should The second benchmarks should be able units on NYCHA property.110 We focus on supporting local offices. First, set for making housing more afford- encourage this type of partnership, NYCHA should have a unit that creates able and readily available. This can and believe that HPD should be giv- and maintains a management frame- be shown by: the number of vouchers en more opportunity to work towards work for local offices. This will act as issued; share of available vouchers developing new units for low-income a set of management guidelines, and utilized; and number of households residents. This is because HPD’s role should include minimum requirements relocating with housing search assis- and experience as an agency is to for local offices to follow. Management tance. Promoting racial and economic develop and preserve housing. In the guidelines should ease the transition diversity is the third opportunity for past, HPD developed multibillion-dol- to local office management, and act as benchmarking. This can be marked by lar plans, including over 100,000 units a reference point for local offices. The the share of new units in both low-pov- of affordable housing111 Looking at the requirements and guidelines should erty and non-minority neighborhoods. last published statement from NYCHA be based off work and research done This can be marked by: the share of in July 2011 on “projects in construc- by their policy analysis unit described 105 Schuk tion” NYCHA was developing about above. Second, there should be a 106 Osborne and Plastrik, 2000; Osborne and 108 Katz, 104 Gaebler 1991 109 Katz, 104 unit that is responsible for liability 107 Osborne and Plastrik, 2000; Osborne and 110 NYCHA and indemnity to maintain the finan- Gaebler 1991; Boston Consulting Group, 33 111 HPD

At Home in Brownsville NYCHA 48

1,100 units.112 A stronger partnership will enable HPD to work on what their best at: development. This will enable NYCHA to focus more on policy, fund- ing, property maintenance and ten- ants needs.

NYCHA’s Transition to Decentralization

We are suggesting that the transition to local offices start as a pilot program in Brownsville. NYCHA Headquar- ters should offer guidance to local offices during the transition to decen- tralization. For this reason, we sug- gest that local offices meet regularly with NYCHA headquarters to discuss challenges and gain information and feedback. The need for meetings was common request amongst new man- agement after the decentralization of public housing in Ontario.113 For this reason we highly suggest open com- munication between the two divisions.

A large city like NYC, with diverse neighborhoods and communities, needs to devolve management to end the one size fits all approach. In Ontario, devolution of public housing gave “the potential for greater freedom to administer social housing programs in ways best suited to local needs.”114 Localizing NYCHA’s operational man- agement and programming allows for site-specific management tuned to local housing markets and programs tuned to local tenants. Furthermore, we recommend local offices hire from there tenant base. This inherently in- creases resident participation, and of- fers new employment opportunities. To further empower residents, we also recommend a portion of local office budgets be dedicated to participatory budgeting.115

112 NYCHA Department of Development 113 Schuk 114 Schuk, 17 115 NYCHA Department of Development

At Home in Brownsville 49 NYCHA

At Home in Brownsville

Physical Planning Challenges and Recommendations Physical Planning 52

the NYCHA campuses, a disconnect Recommendations “A public housing project would between NYCHA campuses and the rest of Brownsville, and difficulty in Build Upon Existing Connectivity bring new blood to Brownsville - accessing transportation options that Initiatives connect Brownsville with the rest of The community of Brownsville has people, it is true, who could only the city. already initiated advocacy efforts to foster healthy and helpful connectivity afford to pay small rents, but who The paths that wind throughout measures. Due to the lobbying efforts NYCHA form a disorienting network, of Bettie Kollock-Wallace, the Chair- would pay those rents. And they inhibiting connectivity, and pose a con- person of CB 16, and neighborhood stant challenge to securely walk from residents, the Department of Trans- would face the future with a new block to block. These paths can make portation painted bike lanes on Pitkin the journey to and from a point of inter- Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard courage resulting from the stimulat- est, such as the commercial corridors in the spring of 2013.118 In reference to along Pitkin, Belmont, or Rockaway bicyclist safety, Bettie was quoted say- ing new environment and new op- Avenues, schools, libraries or the sub- ing, “If we had the bike lane you could way, a difficult endeavor. The Center easily follow the route. You could be portunities for happiness.” - Milton for Court Innovation reported that safe.”119 Such advocacy has the po- “While public and non-public housing tential to transform public space in J, Goell, Brooklyn Must Have Better residents do not statistically differ in Brownsville, and attention to connec- their feelings of safety in local parks or tivity issues within the community and Public Housing, p.29 going to and from the subway, public NYCHA campuses should continue to housing residents did feel less safe on be advanced. the street (38 percent compared to 51 percent).”116 Furthermore, the Brownsville Partner- ship (BP) has instituted select initia- Fencing, scaffolding, or the NYCHA tives to improve the physical challeng- This section addresses the physi- buildings themselves often obscure es of NYCHA campuses. Temporary cal problems within NYCHA devel- the sightline on these paths. Accord- way-finding measures, such as guide opments in Brownsville. We aim for ing to the Center for Court Innovation, signs, use photos and statements of these recommendations to enhance 11 percent of Public housing resi- residents as markers to identify where community resources and create dents, compared to 21 percent who one was in the campus within some more opportunities for community lived in privately owned co-ops, apart- of the NYCHA developments. Ras- and civic health. The following recom- ments, or houses, were significantly mia Kirmani-Frye, the Partnership’s mendations for solutions to improve less likely to feel that the quality of life Director, calls these measures “‘vis- Brownsville’s neighborhood layout was good or very good.117 Fostering a ible interruptions in a community that aim to strengthen the area’s commu- continuous and open atmosphere can change the way people interact with nity feel, neighborhood programming, significantly address the perception of their space.”120 BP also impacted and are intended to be used as a tool a low quality of life. senior mobility by organizing a walk- by community residents to come to- ing group to encourage safe exercise gether. These observations on how In addition to the superblocks, the in numbers. Small initiatives such as to improve the physical characteris- streetscape itself can act as an iso- these have the potential to transform tics will have to be further discussed lating factor towards residents. For neighborhood livability, and as such, with the community at large and in the example, Mother Gaston Boulevard we recommend that NYCHA work with specific context of a fully participatory is a wide thoroughfare with a narrow BP and other concerned organizations planning process. concrete central median. Public Hous- to further foster and expand collabora- ing developments line both sides of tive approaches to create better con- the street from Livonia to Sutter Av- nectivity. Connectivity in enues, and the fencing that surrounds Brownsville the houses combined with a lack of first floor retail, can create a dreary, Fostering Connectivity Challenges uninhabited feel. Additionally, the Bou- levard is lit almost exclusively for cars We recommend removing any unnec- Brownsville once consisted of a street and it is a dark passageway to walk on essary obstructions, such as fencing grid pattern with uniform blocks. To- at night. and scaffolding, adding more lighting day, it is dominated by the NYCHA and seating, establishing way-finding superblock layout. This layout creates 118 Kazis,2011 a challenge for pedestrian circulation 116 Hynynen, 2011 119 Ibid through a lack of connectivity within 117 Ibid 120 Urban Omnibus, 2014

At Home in Brownsville 53 Physical Planning informational and directional signs throughout the neighborhood and the NYCHA campuses, and making streetscape improvements on Mother Gaston Boulevard. This will improve sightlines throughout the campuses, establish better access to open space, and create a more pleasant, safe, and walkable neighborhood.

Last year, the Municipal Art Society and BP organized the “Brownsville Hope Summit” on neighborhood safety and com- munity development.1 Some of the comments that emerged from a collaborative charrette centered around how Browns- ville‘s safety would improve “if people felt more comfortable walking around the streets and had pleasant outside areas to sit around. Beautification is a gen- eral concern in the neighbor- hood…Remove the scaffolding around NYCHA properties and replacing them with gardening that residents can claim owner- ship for.”2

1 The Municipal Art Society of New York, 2013 2 Brownsville Partnership, 14

Neighborhood Street Connectivity Connecting the superblocks to the Map 3: Street Connectivity rest of the neighborhood will better enhance visibility, strengthening the atmosphere for visitors. Reestablish- runs through the southern section, ad- perception of community safety and ing the street grid will also allow for jacent to the study area. These trains walkability with more eyes on the more public space with two new parks connect via the Broadway Junction street in the NYCHA campuses. It may established at the southern end of the transportation hub in addition to the also create more options of pedestrian study area (one in the Tilden develop- East New York station on the Long Is- flow to the commercial corridors and ments and the other behind the Van land Rail Road. cross streets, which will bolster the lo- Dyke Community Center). cal retail economy. In order to better Due to many express trains and proxi- connect the study area with the rest of mate location to Manhattan, it takes Brownsville, we recommend reestab- Access to Transportation anywhere between fifteen to twenty lishing the street grid wherever possi- Challenges minutes to travel to Downtown Brook- ble without demolishing any infrastruc- lyn, twenty five minutes to Down- ture. Map 3 provides an example of Challenges town Manhattan, thirty-five minutes what this could look like with Osborn to Midtown Manhattan, thirty minutes Street running through the Brownsville Subways to Long Island City, twenty minutes housing development. CD16 and Brownsville are accessible to Jamaica, Queens, thirty minutes by four trains, running express and lo- to JFK Airport, and roughly one hour Re-mapping the street infrastructure cal stops. The A, C, and J trains en- to Coney Island. The prevalence of would address the sense of isolation ter through the northern section of the subways allow commuters to travel within the NYCHA campuses and community district, the L train along throughout the five boroughs relatively would help create a more accessible the eastern section, and the 3 train efficiently, however, there are a num-

At Home in Brownsville Physical Planning 54

BEST PRACTICE: Neighborhood Street Connectivity A NYCHA development, the St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem, Man- hattan offer a case study of an implemented re-mapped street through an existing superblock development. Frederick Doug- lass Blvd was reconnected with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. With the re-mapped street, in- fill development occurred in the form of a new school. For more information visit http://www.nyc. gov/html/nycha/html/about/HCZ_ SaintNicholas.shtml. Image 6: St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem, NYC. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/about/HCZ_SaintNicholas.shtml. ber of obstacles in getting to these sta- or near Brownsville. A few of the major of the buses directly connect the study tions for NYCHA and other residents lines include the B60 along Rocka- area to the Broadway Junction transit in the study area, as will be discussed way Avenue, the B7 along Boyland hub, again, making it difficult to get in the physical planning recommenda- Street and Saratoga Avenue, the B25 there. Additionally, it might be quicker tions. along Atlantic Avenue, and the B14, for many residents to walk through the which runs along Pitkin Avenue and study area rather than taking the B14 turns down Mother Gaston Boulevard. because of its relatively short route. Buses The B14 is the only bus line that runs The bus system in Brooklyn is exten- through the study area, helping resi- sive, with many lines running through dents travel to East New York. None Bike Lanes

Image 6: Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

At Home in Brownsville 55 Physical Planning

Existing Transportation

Map 4: Existing Transportation

At Home in Brownsville Physical Planning 56

Image 7: Rockaway Avenue Elevated Station (3 Train )

The bike network serves Brownsville the areas close to the East River. people with impaired mobility.121 relatively well, linking local streets to larger arterial streets. The bike system While the study area is fairly well Additional concerns from the Hope recently expanded in 2013, adding served by transportation, access to Summit write up regarding Livonia Av- lanes along Pitkin Avenue and Mother the Broadway Junction subway station enue, which is related to streetscape Gaston Boulevard. The growing net- requires walking through an uninviting and street life infrastructure, were: Bet- work added to already existing facili- tunnel beneath Atlantic Avenue (figure ter lighting to make Livonia a brighter ties on East New York Avenue, Atlantic 3). The tunnel is poorly lit and poses street at night; requiring station eleva- Avenue, Bergen Street, Pacific Street, safety risks, particularly at night. Fur- tors to be spatially organized, visible, St. Marks Avenue, Liberty Street, and thermore, the elevated Junius Street and safe; and exhibiting art on elevat- New Lots Avenue. Additionally, Rock- and Rockaway Avenue subway stops ed train columns.122 away Parkway has a facility that runs on the 3 train, as well as the connec- adjacent to the study area’s south- tion between the 3 train and L train, are western boundary. not ADA compliant. This makes get- Recommendations ting up to train platforms difficult or in- It would take roughly half an hour for accessible to people with some physi- We recommend the subway stations, a cyclist to travel from Mother Gaston cal disability. The Brownsville Hope including the connection between the Boulevard to Downtown Brooklyn via Summit exemplifies this sentiment 3 and L train, be made ADA compliant. Atlantic Avenue, and about forty-five through resident responses. They see We also suggest the tunnel connection minutes to travel into Manhattan. Al- transportation in the neighborhood as to Broadway Junction be improved though the network is growing, the an asset. Having major train lines run with better aesthetics, including new southern portion of the district is still through the neighborhood allows resi- paint, improved entrances, and exits. underserved, allowing few connec- dents to travel to other parts of the city Furthermore, adding lights and cam- tions to the neighborhoods in south- and vice versa. However, accessibility eras can help create a safer environ- ern Brooklyn and Queens. Most lanes to the elevated train track is hard for 121 Ibid lead towards Downtown Brooklyn or 122 Ibid

At Home in Brownsville 57 Physical Planning ment for people who must use the tun- a significant challenge to create a under-utilized parking lots, vacant lots, nel. Lighting should be added at both livable, flourishing community. The and other available spaces.125 Infill de- ends, and within the tunnel. Addition- vacant land is both privately and velopment is a way to both address ally, lighting should also be installed publically owed, creating a problem the desolate pockets of underutilized underneath the elevated subways, of ownership and delegation. In our land while brining in new, vibrant pos- specifically along Livonia Avenue. study area, almost 30,000 square sibilities to the neighborhood. Through feet of vacant land is owned by both a planning process that encourages the Department of City-wide Admin- full community participation, Browns- Zoning istrative Services (DCAS) and the ville can take control of the wide vari- Department of Housing Preservation ety of residential mixes and preclude Challenges and Development (HPD).123 Addition- the possibility of inappropriately built ally, there is a total of about 350,000 and poorly planned market rate hous- The current overall zoning in CD 16 square feet of under-utilized NYCHA ing. does not completely reflect the cur- parking.124 Such conflicts in ownership rent land use of the neighborhood. create obstacles in developing land For example the current predominant for better use, particularly in a timely Residential R6 zoning for CD 16 is composed manner; however, there also exists We recommend the rezoning of mostly of low-density one to two fam- the potential for positive, community- Brownsville to increase the density ily homes. Also, commercial overlays based planning to enact grassroots along wide streets. For example, we west of Rockaway Avenue specifically change. suggest increased density on Mother along Sutter Avenue have no existing Gaston Boulevard with a rezoning of commercial land uses. At the same R7A. R7A would increase the FAR to time, the zoning limits the potential for Recommendations: 4.0 (4.6 with an inclusionary housing creating new building opportunities on Rezoning bonus) and also has a maximum vacant land. Additionally, the current retail corridor along Pitkin Avenue and The current zoning does not allow the building height of 80 feet on a wide Rockaway Avenue is not continuous neighborhood of Brownsville to reach street.126 R6A increases the overall because both the NYCHA superblocks its full potential for a healthy physical density to an FAR of 3.6 with inclu- and smaller private residential devel- environment. The following zoning sionary housing located along newly opments break up the retail continuity. recommendations are given with the created streets through NYCHA su- Commercial corridors offer a wealth idea to preserve the unique neighbor- perblocks.127 Such a boost of transit- of benefits to struggling communities hood character Brownsville retains, oriented development could bring in a including jobs, increased tax revenue, while creating two new zoning districts more diverse socio-economic mix of increased safety, more access to vital to address the neighborhood’s chal- residents without displacing the cur- services such as retail shopping, din- lenging circumstances. rent residents. ing establishments, banks, and other professional services. Inside the NYCHA campuses we rec- Infill ommend a rezoning of R6B, which The R6 residential zoning is prob- Infill is a complicated issue that has to would reduce the allowable density lematic for the NYCHA superblock be considered in the context of each from an FAR of 2.43 to 2.0. The aim developments because achieving the particular situation. Thus, we rec- is to allow for additional options to de- maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of ommend a thorough analysis of the velop land if the community decides 2.43 requires a large amount of open current conditions before any formal to pursue an infill development plan in space, encouraging “tower in the park” plans are made. With the help of local the future. We recommend that all of styles of development. Meanwhile, the government, instituting infill develop- the residential rezoning include provi- manufacturing zone along the edge ment programs have the potential to sions for Inclusionary Zoning so that of the Brownsville Industrial Busi- enhance the quality of life in estab- new, permanent, affordable housing ness Zone does not take into account lished neighborhoods, making bet- options can be built. The Inclusion- the residential community across the ter use of vacant and underutilized ary Housing Program incentivizes the street, posing problems of land uses lots. Encouraging infill development creation or preservation of affordable being located too close together. increases access of people to jobs, housing to developers by offering an Overall, the relatively low FAR allowed reduces environmental pollution as- optional floor area bonus in exchange under current zoning hampers any sociated with commuting, strengthens for less market rate development. potential future plans for community- property values and the real estate based development. market, makes better use of existing We propose a new a R7L district, with infrastructure, replaces brownfields, 125 Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and adds socioeconomic diversity of Infil Development Program 126 Zoning Districts, Residential, New York Vacant Land 123 Department of Finance, 2014 City Department of City Planning The amount of underutilized land is 124 Ibid 127 Ibid

At Home in Brownsville Physical Planning 58

Vacant Lots

Map 5: Rockaway Avenue Elevated Station (3 Train )

At Home in Brownsville 59 Physical Planning

Existing Zoning

Map 6: Rockaway Avenue Elevated Station (3 Train )

At Home in Brownsville Physical Planning 60

called for. Brownsville residents said they “would [also] like to add variety to the housing possibilities, like housing for singles or small families.”130 Our residential rezoning recommendation would allow such variety of housing possibilities to enter to neighborhood.

There is the potential for up to 4,736 additional housing units to be created if our rezoning recommendations are followed. Please look in the appendix, item C to see how new units would be distributed. These additional hous- ing units would be comprehensively planned with additional services in- cluding schools, community centers, and health care facilities. Furthermore, increased neighborhood open space and additional retail options would improve the overall physical environ- ment of the neighborhood. However, increasing additional housing units should a full participatory planning process, implemented with extreme consideration of community members concerns of demolishing any existing buildings.

Commercial Corridors

We recommend contextual districts be created along Rockaway and Sut- ter Avenue by placing C2-4 commer- cial overlays over the existing zoning. The proposed commercial zoning and overlays may also attract new cus- Map 7: Proposed zoning tomers, allowing the retail corridor to revitalize. For example, the NYCHA a C2-4 commercial overlay district, light can filter down to the street. Ad- parking lot adjacent to Rockaway along Livonia Avenue beside the 3 ditionally, with the C2-4 overlay, Livo- Avenue, near the subway stop, can train. The rezoning would establish nia Avenue receives more foot traffic be developed to create a continuous bulk regulations below the elevat- through first floor retail provided by the commercial corridor with an appropri- ed train similar to the C4-4L district R7L zoning. 129 ate street-wall, while also providing for that was introduced to the Bedford more affordable housing (see render- Stuyvesant North Rezoning in 2012.128 ing on p. 61). The maximum base height of develop- Affordable Housing ment is proposed to be 60 feet, while We also propose C4-5X zoning along the maximum building height is 100 During the 2013 Hope Summit, many Pitkin Avenue, an established com- feet. The maximum FAR is proposed residents explained that the “NYCHA mercial corridor, which could benefit to be 3.45, or 4.6 with Inclusionary buildings are important features in from added retail options without the Housing. R7L buildings also must Brownsville [and that they are inter- restrictions attributed to a commercial have a 5 foot setback at the street line. ested] in preserving them [while] the overlay, such as, placing limitations on The new R7L zoning would allow for surroundings improved.” However, certain commercial uses and ground growth along the Livonia Avenue while landscaping improvement and build- floor retail. imposing height restrictions so that ing maintenance are not all that was 128 Bedford-Stuyvesant North Rezoning, New 129 Zoning Districts, Residential, New York Lastly, we recommend the industrial York City Department of City Planning City Department of City Planning 130 Hope Summit Report, 14

At Home in Brownsville 61 Physical Planning

Rockaway Avenue and Livonia Avenue before infill development

Rockaway Avenue and Livonia Avenue after infill development

At Home in Brownsville Physical Planning 62 zone be changed to C8-2A, running along Junius Street. This rezoning provides an opportunity to bring larger retail store option into the neighbor- hood if desired at some point in the future. The C8-2A zoning would al- low for a wide variety of commercial uses with specially established urban design provisions to protect the resi- dential NYCHA campuses.

Conclusion

The recommendations proposed in this section are intended to be a tool for the community. They may be used as a starting point for residents, local officials, or Brownsville community stakeholders to engage in a discus- sion about the potential solutions for challenges within Brownsville’s physi- cal environment. The recommenda- tions may also be used as preliminary ideas when engaging city agencies, such as Department of Citywide Ad- ministrative Service (DCAS), the De- partment of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), or NYCHA. It is imperative to remedy the physical challenges plaguing the NYCHA prop- erties and the community’s infrastruc- ture while maintaining the Brownsville neighborhood’s rich history and sense of deep-rooted pride in the community.

Due to the current affordable hous- ing shortage in New York City, proper solution to existing problems within NYCHA’s physical structure may sig- nificantly improve the lives of public housing residents in Brownsville. The proposed recommendations highlight the importance of addressing prob- lems within the physical environment, providing good affordable housing, and community resources to all resi- dents in a comprehensive manner. By looking at public housing and com- munity issues holistically, a path for a more equitable future can be created, benefitting both residents and all of New York City, and making people, at last, feel at home in Brownsville.

At Home in Brownsville 63 Physical Planning

At Home in Brownsville Locating Brownsville 64

At Home in Brownsville 65 Locating Brownsville APPENDIX

At Home in Brownsville Appendix 66

Item A: Questionnaire

Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs and Planning Spring 2014 - Planning Studio Public Housing in Brownsville

Community Survey

Thank you for taking our survey. This is part of an on-going project of the Economic Development Committee of your local community board and the Graduate Urban Planning Department at CUNY Hunter College. This survey should take 5-7 minutes to complete. Please note, your participation is voluntary. You may choose to end this survey at any time. ______

COMMUNITY

1. Are you a NYCHA resident?

Yes No (skip to question 7)

2. What development do you live in? ______

Number of Bedrooms? ______Number of people in your apartment?______

3. How long have you lived there? ______

4. On a scale of 1-3, how will you rate physical conditions in your building? (1=worst, 3=best)

1 2 3

5. On a scale of 1-3, how would you rate the physical conditions in your community? (1=worst, 3=best)

1 2 3

6. In your opinion, what is NYCHA’s biggest problem in Brownsville? (Select all that apply).

Safety Cleanliness Residents Location Open Space Recreation Walkability Support for Youth Support for the elderly Amenities (laundry, gym) Ground Maintenance Staff Communication Apartment Maintenance Lack of response from NYCHA management Other:

7. Are you currently employed?

At Home in Brownsville 67 Appendix

Yes No

8. If you had the means, would you leave Brownsville?

Yes No

If yes, where would you go? ______

JUSTICE AND SAFETY

9. How responsive is NYCHA management to your maintenance request? (Select one)

They never respond. They always respond. They respond sometimes. Not Applicable / Don’t know

10. Rate your level of confidence in the 73rd Precinct? (Select one)

Good Neutral Bad Don’t know

11. How safe do you feel walking around… your community? Very safe Somewhat safe Not safe at all At night? Very safe Somewhat safe Not safe at all Alone? Very safe Somewhat safe Not safe at all

LIVABILITY

12. When you want fresh air, where do you go? ______

13. Do you commute outside of Brownsville daily?

Yes No

14. Choice your daily modes of transportation? (Choose all that apply)

Biking Walking Train Bus Car

15. If you had $1 million, what would you change in Brownsville? ______

16. What do you love about Brownsville? ______

At Home in Brownsville Appendix 68

YOUTH

17. Please mark how much of an problem each of these issues is in the Brownsville Community

Big Problem Minor Problem Not a Problem Don’ Know

Drug Selling/Use

Fighting

Gang Activity

Truancy/Dropping Out

Underage Drinking

Experiencing sexual assault/rape Teenage pregnancy

Bullying

Unemployment Lack of GED programs !

Lack of educational/ training opportunities ! !

Lack of structured recreational activities

Supplementary Questions

1. What is your…?

Race/Ethnicity______Gender______Age______

2. Are you happy with the health care in your neighborhood?

Yes No

3. Are you happy with the education institutions in your neighborhood?

Yes No

4. Are you happy with the retail options in your neighborhood?

Yes No

5. Are you happy with the cultural/social options in your neighborhood?

At Home in Brownsville 69 Appendix

Yes No

6. Are you happy with the parks and recreations space in your neighborhood?

Yes No

7. Are you happy with the public safety system in your neighborhood?

Yes No

8. Are you happy with the grocery stores in your neighborhood?

Yes No

9. Are you happy with the banking options in your neighborhood?

Yes No

10. Are you happy with your currently home environment? Yes No

Item B: Existing NYCHA Programming

Throughout Brownsville Other NYCHA Art Programs Residential Arts Show X Visual Arts Show X Education Programs Broadband Technology Opportunities Program X Digital Vans X ATTAIN Computer Labs X BRIDGES X Chess X I Have a Dream X New York City Early Literacy Learning X Symantec Partnership X The Write Girls Program X

At Home in Brownsville Appendix 70

Equal Opportunity X Family Services Supportive Outreach Services (SOS) X Emergency Transfer Program X Witness Relocation Program X Furniture Distribution Program X Mediation Program (SafeHorizon) X Anonymous Resident Referral for NYCHA X Social Services Domestic Violence Aftercare Program X Domestic Violence Intervention, Education and Prevention Program (DVIEP) X

Fatherhood Initiative X Garden Program X Health Services Shape Up NYC X Immunization Outreach Program X Health Stat Program X Music Programs Youth Chorus X Senior Chorus X Performing Arts Senior Festival X Teen Musical Theatre Program X Annual Holiday Show X Talent Search Competition X

At Home in Brownsville 71 Appendix

Recreation Programs Gateway Overnight Camping Program X Summer Fishing Contest X Summer Carnival X Kids Walk X Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program X REES- Resident Economic Empowerment X and Sustainability Senior Services X Sports Programs Education Through Sports Day X Education Through Sports Unit Program X Basketball X Bowling X Flag Football X Karate/Tai Chi X Lacrosse X Netball X NFL-NYCHA Officiating Academy X Soccer X Softball X Track & Field X STUDIO NYCHA Photography Exhibit X NYCHA Symphony Orchestra X

At Home in Brownsville Appendix 72

Item C: Additional Housing from to Proposed Rezoning

Built Exis:ng Addi:onal inclusionary NYCHA project name housing units a@er FAR Units rezoning

Brownsville Houses 1.42 1337 852

Tilden Houses 2.13 998 805

Van Dyke I+II 1.71 1714 1151

Hughes Apartments 2.02 509 406

Glenmore Plaza 2.62 438 0

Howard Houses 1.16 813 1404

Seth Low Houses 2.26 535 109

Woodson 1.76 407 44

At Home in Brownsville 73 Appendix

At Home in Brownsville

REFERENCES References 76

References

“Applying for Public Housing: Priority Codes.”Web. .

Angotti, Thomas, and Sylvia Morse. Keeping the Public in Public Housing. Rep. New York City: n.p., 2014. Print.

Bailey, Allison, and Sriram Pappudu. Reshaping NYCHA’s Central Support Functions . Boston Consulting Group, 2012. Web.

Beekman, Daniel. “Castle Hill Retrofit Lauded.” Bronx Times. Community Newspaper Group, 25 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 May 2014.

Bloom, Nicholas Dagen. Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2008. Print.

Bratt, Rachel. “Should We Foster the Nonprofit Housing Sector as Developers and Owners of Subsidized Rental Housing?” Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2006). .

“Brooklyn 73rd Precinct.”Web. .

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