NYCHA - Elected Officials, Community Boards Support NYCHA's Flexible Operations (Flexops) 20160322

NYC Housing Authority


Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2016
CONTACT: media@nycha.nyc.gov | (212) 306-3322

ELECTED OFFICIALS, COMMUNITY BOARDS SUPPORT NYCHA’S FLEXIBLE OPERATIONS (FLEXOPS): EXPANDED SERVICE HOURS

Council Member Donovan Richards said, "For many NYCHA residents, maintenance hours aligning with traditional business hours was simply an inconvenience, causing necessary improvements to go unaddressed for far too long. These changes to operating hours shows that NYCHA is moving in the right direction as New Yorkers cannot afford to miss a day of work to wait around for maintenance workers. Late hours and weekend hours will help ensure that apartments are properly maintained in a timely fashion. I’d like to thank Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye for moving NYCHA in more efficient direction.”

Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez said, “For years, tenants living in NYCHA developments in my district have expressed the debilitating challenge they face in getting repairs done in a timely manner. When repairs can only be made during business hours, this puts a severe strain on hard-working lower-income residents who are then forced to take off. We can do better and we will do better with this important initiative by the de Blasio Administration. Providing flexibility to residents means providing peace of mind. It means they will not have to make tough decisions between going to work to earn the money to provide for their families and getting vital repairs done when it comes to mold, leaks, gas piping and more. I am encouraged by this pilot program and I expect to see positive results for our many valued NYCHA residents.”

Council Member Fernando Cabrera said, “I fully support the launch of the FlexOps initiative, and I am particularly excited to see how it will be implemented in four NYCHA developments in the Bronx this spring. All New York City residents deserve to live in clean, orderly environments where repairs are made in a timely manner. Offering expanded service hours will significantly improve responsiveness of property management to quality of life concerns in NYCHA developments.”

Council Member James Vacca said, “I’m glad that NYCHA has instituted expanded service hours at a number of locations throughout the City, including the Pelham Parkway Houses in my district. Previously, repairs and maintenance were only done during the daytime, which was inconvenient for working families. Extending service times to the early morning, nights and weekends allows all NYCHA residents to be better served. I look forward to further innovation to continue to make the City’s largest landlord more accommodating to the people it serves.”

Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. said, “I’m pleased to see steps being taken to ensure our NYCHA residents have more convenient service hours. While I’m committed to working with the Mayor and my colleagues to bring long-term improvements to NYCHA, FlexOps will go a long way in making sure our families are provided with safer and cleaner housing.”

Shah Ally, District Manager, Manhattan Community Board 12, said, "This project makes sense. Staggering work schedules helps NYCHA residents who work have services done during non-work hours, while improving the everyday functioning of NYCHA so that it works more efficiently.”

Nadine Whitted, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 4, said, "A coordinated repair program that would work with both workers and more importantly tenants is a sensible approach to addressing backlog repair requests. I'm anxiously awaiting the expansion of the FlexOps program to the Hope Gardens development."

Andre Mitchell, Brooklyn Community Board 5, said, "I think FlexOps is an extremely good idea to accommodate our residents that are working and going to school. This program allows these NYCHA residents to still be able to have their repairs done. We are in full support of the pilot program and we look forward to FlexOps coming to Community Board 5 in East New York, Brooklyn."

Demetrius S. Lawrence, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 9, said, "As the Chair for Community Board 9 in Brooklyn, I want to state for the record that I fully support the FlexOps program. It will finally give the residents in NYCHA housing accountability for the repairs in their place of residence."

Viola Greene-Walker, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 16, said, "Many NYCHA residents are unable to get repair orders resolved in a timely fashion because they are unavailable during NYCHA's normal business hours. FlexOps is a great idea to resolve complaints of residents who work during the day."

Cedric Loftin, District Manager, Bronx Community Board 1, said, "With the positive changes to the expansion of daily operating service hours in NYCHA public housing to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., we are pleased to hear that the Mott Haven Houses in Bronx Community Board 1 has been selected as one of the initial developments. The expanded service hours change helps NYCHA to better serve all residents in getting their repairs completed in a timely manner."

Florence Koulouris, District Manager, Queens Community Board 1, said, "We are happy to hear this pilot program will be happening at the Ravenswood Houses in our district. We hope it will better facilitate repairs for our residents and prevent them from missing time at work. Hopefully it will make repairs less stressful for the residents at Ravenswood."

Marilyn Bitterman, District Manager, Queens Community Board 7, said, "We are happy that the hours have been extended from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. This will give residents flexibility so that maintenance can be done on their apartments when they are actually available. We are also happy that the residents will have the ability to make appointments on the weekend."

Marie Adam-Ovide, District Manager, Queens Community Board 8, said, "This is certainly a welcomed improvement. Many of the residents of public housing are working during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The extended hours of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. will make it easier to schedule needed repairs either before or after working hours. They will no longer have to take time off from work."

Yvonne Reddick, District Manager, Queens Community Board 12, said, “This partnership with the tenants will give working families an opportunity to receive the services they need without losing a day’s pay."

Jonathan Gaska, Queens Community Board 14, said, "This is a good step forward by NYCHA. Now, tenants who work do not have to use precious vacation time to resolve housing issues."

Dorothy Turano, District Manager, Queens Community Board 18, said, "In a 'city that never sleeps,’ scheduling repairs and upgrades in accordance with the needs of tenants is essential. Our thanks to Mayor de Blasio for standing behind his commitment to improve the housing conditions for New Yorkers residing in New York City housing by initiating this pilot program at Glenwood Houses. We anxiously await its implementation."

Jazmine Outlaw, Community Council President, 101st Precinct, said, “Public housing is an essential service for thousands of families in New York City. For far too long, NYCHA residents have been treated as second-class citizens living ins subpar conditions that are unacceptable. NYCHA residents deserve to have the necessary resources to preserve their quality of life in their neighborhoods. I believe NYCHA’s plan to have longer open hours to service more residents is a step in the right direction."

More About FlexOps:
Flexible Operations (FlexOps): Expanded Service Hours is a transformative initiative to extend NYCHA’s hours for completing routine repairs, cleaning common areas, and scheduling meetings with property management. This initiative will create a new, staggered shift schedule for frontline staff, including caretakers, maintenance works, property managers and support staff. A recent survey of more than 1,400 public housing residents, including 58 resident leaders, found that 94 percent supported extending NYCHA’s service hours beyond the traditional 8:00 am – 4:30 pm hours.

Watch NYCHA Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye’s FlexOps video message to residents here.

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