STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6925 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ANDERSON -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Housing AN ACT amend the public housing law, in relation to enacting the "NYCHA - innovating neighborhoods through viable efficient solutions for tenants act"; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "NYCHA - innovating neighborhoods through viable efficient solutions 3 for tenants act" or the "NYCHA INVEST act". 4 § 2. The public housing law is amended by adding a new section 14-a to 5 read as follows: 6 § 14-a. Vacant unit rehabilitation program. 1. For the purposes of 7 this section the following terms shall have the following meanings, in 8 respect to units: 9 (a) minimal damage shall mean: 10 (i) basic repairs, including, but not limited to: 11 (1) basic appliance replacement or replacements, including a stove or 12 refrigerator; or 13 (2) minor carpentry or repair work, including, but not limited to, 14 cabinet replacements, painting, the addition of child window guards, 15 patching of walls, tile/flooring replacement in kitchens or bathrooms 16 and light fixture installations; 17 (ii) no severe structural, health, or safety issues; such units shall 18 be: 19 (1) mold- and asbestos-free with no environmental hazards; 20 (2) habitable with working plumbing and electrical systems; and 21 (3) pest and rodent treated areas; 22 (b) substantial damage shall mean major system repairs or replacements 23 are necessary, but such unit is still structurally sound. Such units may 24 have or require: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10878-01-5
A. 6925 2 1 (i) serious but repairable plumbing and electrical issues, including, 2 but not limited to, pipe replacements and rewiring; 3 (ii) extensive flooring damage requiring complete replacements, 4 including asbestos abatement; 5 (iii) partial wall or ceiling damage requiring replacement due to 6 water damage; 7 (iv) severe but localized mold remediation needs, provided such mold 8 is remediable; and 9 (v) bathroom and kitchen fixture replacements beyond basic appliance, 10 cabinet, and painting needs; and 11 (c) major structural damage shall mean severe damage that requires 12 extensive repairs to make them habitable. Such units may have or 13 require: 14 (i) compromised structural integrity requiring foundation, wall, or 15 ceiling reinforcement; 16 (ii) severe water damage, including, but not limited to, collapsed 17 ceilings or walls; 18 (iii) full rewiring of electrical systems due to fire or long-term 19 neglect; 20 (iv) complete plumbing overhauls, including, but not limited to, new 21 piping required throughout the unit; 22 (v) extensive mold and/or asbestos abatement requiring professional 23 remediation; 24 (vi) significant HVAC repairs, including, but not limited to, full 25 heating system replacements; and 26 (vii) severe pest infestations that require comprehensive extermi- 27 nation before rehabilitation can begin. 28 2. (a) The division of housing and community renewal, hereinafter 29 referred to as the division, shall provide two hundred seventy-five 30 million dollars directly to the New York city housing authority, herein- 31 after referred to as NYCHA, to rehabilitate vacant units. Such funding 32 shall be provided from the general fund and distributed in the following 33 manner: 34 (i) Batch one: twenty-five million dollars for five hundred units 35 categorized as having minimal damage, as defined in paragraph (a) of 36 subdivision one of this section. A maximum amount of fifty thousand 37 dollars shall be provided for the rehabilitation of each unit. 38 (ii) Batch two: one hundred million dollars for one thousand units 39 categorized as having substantial damage, as defined in paragraph (b) of 40 subdivision one of this section. A maximum amount of one hundred thou- 41 sand dollars shall be provided for the rehabilitation of each unit. 42 (iii) Batch three: one hundred fifty million dollars for one thousand 43 units categorized as having major structural damage, as defined in para- 44 graph (c) of subdivision one of this section. A maximum amount of one 45 hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be provided for the rehabilitation 46 of each unit. 47 (b) The division shall not provide funding until NYCHA submits a 48 detailed plan for the utilization of such funds to the division for each 49 batch listed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. Funding for a subse- 50 quent batch shall not be provided until the previous batch has been 51 fully utilized and the division has confirmed such batch, and the asso- 52 ciated units are complete, at which time a detailed plan for the next 53 batch shall be provided. The required details of such plans shall be 54 determined by the division but shall at a minimum include the property 55 details of each unit, an itemized list of the damage sought to be fixed 56 within each unit, and the cost of such rehabilitation.
A. 6925 3 1 (c) If a unit selected for any batch does not utilize all funds allo- 2 cated for such unit, such additional funds shall be reallocated to 3 another unit in the same batch. 4 3. NYCHA shall submit quarterly financial and performance reports to 5 the division. The division shall determine the specific criterial 6 required for such reports. 7 4. The division shall designate a liaison to monitor and address 8 NYCHA's utilization of allocated funds. Any delays shall be addressed 9 and a justification for delay shall be provided to such liaison. 10 § 3. The sum of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000), or so 11 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division 12 of housing and community renewal out of any moneys in the state treasury 13 in the general fund to the credit of the division, not otherwise appro- 14 priated, and made immediately available, for the purpose of carrying out 15 the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit 16 and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the 17 commissioner of the division of housing and community renewal in the 18 manner prescribed by law. 19 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 23 on or before such date.