HUD Slashes Funding for NYC Affordable Housing

Cutting millions in federal aid to the New York City Housing Authority will "evaporate" years of progress in the city, said the agency's CEO.

1 minute read

April 3, 2017, 8:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


Public Housing

Jason Eppink / flickr

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will lose at least $35 million in federal aid this year, with further cuts expected to be announced.

NYCHA is the largest affordable housing agency in the nation. The loss of this funding takes it from an operating surplus of $21 million in 2016 to being "more than $14 million in the red," reports the Wall Street Journal.

For the 400,000 people housed by the agency, the immediate impacts are likely to be felt in the areas of maintenance and repairs.

While this cut is the deepest the NYCHA has seen in years, officials expect the situation to get worse; they're bracing for a total of $150 million in cuts. CEO Shola Olatoye told the Wall Street Journal, "The direction we're moving in is one where public housing is drastically different or doesn't exist."

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