It takes NYCHA 290 days on average to address tenant mold ... - Crain's New York Business

Full remediation of mold and pests—two of the leading causes of poor air quality in New York City Housing Authority units and two benchmarks of the 2019 Department of Housing and Urban Development's federal monitor agreement—takes too long to correct, NYCHA officials testified Tuesday at a City Council oversight hearing.

There are an estimated 35,860 open work orders for mold impacting 16,294 apartments, said Daniel Greene, NYCHA's senior vice president for healthy homes. Under a federal agreement and its Mold Action Plan, the agency is required to meet a recurrence metric and a time and completion metric for mold abatement. Despite initiatives from the agency, it still takes on average 290 days to close the "parent" mold work order—the inspection and cleaning—before the full scope of work meant to address the underlying causes has even begun.

Under the agreement, NYCHA is required to complete "simple" mold repairs within five days, and "complex" repairs within 15.

"NYCHA has struggled with these performance standards since the execution of the agreement in 2019," the federal monitor said in November, "but is now taking well-considered steps to improve its performance." During the council hearing, officials said they've been ordering inspections within five days of a complaint.

By committing to several long-term projects, NYCHA has sought to address many of the root causes of adverse air quality in its developments. Mold, pests and ongoing construction affect the air quality in NYCHA's 335 developments. The root of the issue lies in decades of chronic disinvestment and deferred maintenance of the agency's aging infrastructure.

"We cannot simply accept actions which correct a condition back to the status quo," said Councilwoman Alexa Aviles, who chairs the public housing committee. She added that the federal monitor was put in place because of the authority's inability to remedy problems that harm air quality.

To address mold, NYCHA has cleaned ventilation systems or installed new ones in the past two years, but it is falling 4,000 systems short of the 10,000 committed through the Mold Action Plan.

The agency said it also is expanding its Mold Busters initiative, which aims to improve the inspection process at the onset of a complaint by measuring the moisture level, airflow and humidity within the apartment, as well as identifying the location and source of the mold.

Despite the shortcomings, NYCHA has made strides in stemming the spread of mold. The agency received 9,920 mold complaints last year, down from 15,016 in 2021—a 34% decrease NYCHA attributes to its ventilation program. For pests—mice, rats and cockroaches—there were 40,702 complaints last year, 15% fewer than in 2021.

Brad Greenberg, NYCHA's chief compliance officer, noted the improvements during his address to the council. He acknowledged that meeting the time and response metric set by the federal monitor continues to be a struggle.

Agency officials say they need more funding to address larger infrastructure issues at the root of the air-quality problems.

"We have a short window to address NYCHA's plumbing and its physical infrastructure before the systems fail," Greenberg said. "Replacing our plumbing systems and addressing sources of moisture penetration through our roofs and facades across NYCHA's more than 2,000 buildings in the long term requires tens of billions of dollars and a real investment across the portfolio."

For decades, NYCHA has faced funding deficits, negatively affecting its ability to maintain its properties and leading to a continued decline in the condition of its units. The Citizens Budget Commission reported in 2018 that by 2027, 90% of NYCHA's units would be at risk of deteriorating beyond the point where it would be cost-effective to repair.

A resolution from the committee calling on the governor and state Legislature to commit $1.5 billion for NYCHA's capital improvements was postponed until the next legislative day.