Alarm Bells Sounded for New York City Housing Authority's Emergency Preparedness

While much of New York City is actively planning and designing resilience into its systems, a city audit pulled all the alarms in its assessment of the New York City Housing Authority's emergency preparedness.

1 minute read

January 2, 2016, 11:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"More than three years after Hurricane Sandy, New York City’s Housing Authority is 'woefully unprepared' in the face of another weather disaster and roughly 400,000 tenants are at 'extreme risk,' according to a city audit," reports Tracy Lee.

The report, released by the office of Comptroller Scott Stringer, showed an agency failing to learn from its mistakes, despite its stated intention to respond to the lessons from Hurricane Sandy proactively: "Following Hurricane Sandy, NYCHA created the Office of Emergency Preparedness and an overhaul of significant reforms, including the agency’s first-ever master emergency plan, which is currently under development." NYCHA resident Nancy Ortiz is quoted in the article arguing that a five-year horizon for that emergency plan is unacceptable.

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