Housing Authority CEO Goes to Washington

Shola Olatoye went to Washington, D.C., March 27, 2017, to fight for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest manager of apartments in New York City. NYCHA faces massive budget cuts.

“When the President proposes a $6.2 billion cut to HUD’s (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) budget… you have to wonder if public housing will even have a tomorrow,” said Olatoye, chair and CEO for NYCHA, speaking at a conference of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. “Government investment has not kept pace with capital needs… In New York City, we have some of the oldest public housing in the country; our capital need alone is $17 billion.”

“We know poor housing conditions contribute to poor health outcomes,” Olatoye said. “Perhaps in our favor is a [HUD] Secretary with a career in medicine. There is no one better positioned than Secretary [Ben] Carson to not only understand the health impacts of deteriorating housing, but to actually do something about it.”

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