Testimony for New York City Housing Authority Hearing on
NYCHA’s 2006 Draft Plan, 8/3/05

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am here today because I believe that there are aspects of NYCHA’s draft plan for 2006 that are not in the best interests of NYCHA’s tenants.

Since it was first implemented in January 2004, I have spoken out against the community service requirement, which forces public housing residents to work eight hours a week without compensation. This rule, which is enforced by the threat of eviction, is demeaning to public housing residents and damaging to the City’s integrity.

NYCHA itself has objected to the service requirement, calling it an “unfunded mandate,” an unnecessary drain on the authority’s resources. Why then, has NYCHA failed to exercise its full discretion in exempting residents?

Residents who work part-time, attend school part-time, or both do not deserve the humiliation of forced community service. Neither do 60-year-olds who have worked their entire lives, mothers of young children who cannot afford decent child care, or individuals who take care of disabled family members. NYCHA should immediately expand the exemption to include them.

NYCHA should also show more respect for survivors of domestic violence who depend on public housing to escape their abusers. Under the current rules, it is far too difficult for domestic violence survivors to receive an exemption from the service requirement or priority status for new NYCHA applications. For women in abusive relationships, an expedited review of an initial application can mean the difference between life and death. Making them jump through unnecessary hoops to prove they are in danger is callous and reckless.

In order to qualify for DV priority status, applicants must submit two police incident reports, or one report of an extreme felonious assault, a current order of protection, and a letter from an authority confirming that the applicant is a DV survivor. These requirements are excessive to the point of absurdity.

Why must a woman present two police incident reports to qualify for priority status? What about a woman whose abuser is soon to be released from prison? How can she be expected to obtain a current order of protection? And what about a woman who’s abuser is neither her husband nor the father of her children and therefore cannot obtain an order of protection at all? Does her case not merit priority status?

A DV survivor who cannot find housing before she is forced out of temporary shelter has to choose between living on the street and returning to the abuser. This is a choice no woman should have to make.

NYCHA can do its part by adopting the recommendation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and loosening the documentation requirements for priority status.

A single police report, a single order of protection, a medical record, or an affidavit from a counselor or social worker should be enough to secure priority status.

NYCHA is in the business of sheltering New Yorkers in need. These families need help but not at the expense of their dignity. They need homes without being strangled by red tape.

NYCHA has demonstrated its capacity for compassion by making families with children in foster care eligible for priority status. The next step is to expand exemptions from the service requirement and make it easier for domestic violence survivors to obtain housing. You have the power to make life better for thousands of New Yorkers in need. I am asking that you use it.

Thank you.

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