Mayor Mamdani Vows to Fix NYCHA's Woes

New administration aims to address public housing crisis through public-private partnerships and resident engagement

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani has promised to hold landlords accountable, but the largest landlord in the city - the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) - now answers to him. NYCHA operates the sprawling public housing system, where more than 300,000 people deal with issues like frigid apartments, persistent leaks, broken elevators, and spreading mold. The mayor's administration is exploring tools like the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program and the Public Housing Preservation Trust to address NYCHA's $78 billion capital backlog, while also vowing to protect resident interests and address misinformation.

Why it matters

NYCHA's public housing crisis has persisted for years, with residents facing substandard living conditions. The new administration's approach to tackling these issues through public-private partnerships and increased resident engagement will have significant implications for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who rely on NYCHA housing.

The details

The Mamdani administration is taking an "all-hands" approach to fixing NYCHA, including exploring tools like PACT and the Public Housing Preservation Trust. PACT allows NYCHA buildings to work with private companies to make renovations and access additional federal funding, while the trust has similar goals. However, some NYCHA residents have expressed skepticism about these public-private partnerships. The administration says it wants to ensure the public interest and NYCHA's interests are protected in these deals. The administration also supports the controversial Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses redevelopment project in Manhattan, which would demolish NYCHA buildings and rebuild new public housing units along with affordable and market-rate units. Officials say the project is important for providing brand-new homes for residents, but they want to ensure residents' concerns are addressed.

  • NYCHA has made progress in recent years, with 100% of heat outages resolved within 24 hours over the last year and the authority now having the strongest lead abatement program of any public housing authority in the country.

The players

Zohran Mamdani

The mayor of New York City who has promised to hold landlords accountable, including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest landlord in the city.

Leila Bozorg

The deputy mayor for housing in the Mamdani administration, who discussed the administration's vision for NYCHA.

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

The largest landlord in New York City, operating the sprawling public housing system where more than 300,000 people deal with issues like frigid apartments, persistent leaks, broken elevators, and spreading mold.

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What they’re saying

“We have to take — and I know the mayor is aligned on this — an all-hands approach to addressing NYCHA's challenges. We also want to do that by taking a very close look at these tools and ensuring that the public interest and NYCHA's interests are really protected when we enter into these public-private partnerships.”

— Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing (New York Times)

“One of the residents told me she still thought that the public housing replacement unit she would get would ultimately turn into market-rate housing. That's patently not true.”

— Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing (New York Times)

What’s next

The Mamdani administration is preparing a comprehensive housing plan for the city that will outline its strategy for addressing NYCHA's challenges.

The takeaway

The new administration's approach to tackling NYCHA's long-standing public housing crisis through public-private partnerships and increased resident engagement will be closely watched, as the success or failure of these efforts will have significant implications for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who rely on NYCHA housing.