Red Hook West PACT conversion and the BMT process are written from the same playbook

The conversion of the publicly owned Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the transformation of Red Hook West from a NYCHA managed property to one leased to and run by private developers bear many similarities.

In both cases, public property is either leased or sold to private entities.

The PACT program allows NYCHA to lease out its buildings to private housing companies, either non-profit or for profit, to manage under a 99 year lease. Tenants are moved away from Section 9 rights, called the 964 regulations, which guarantee resident management rights, strong grievance procedures, and protections against possible future changes.

The EDC Vision Plan takes city owned land by the water, 122 acres now used by the maritime industry, and allows half of that space to be leased or sold to private real estate developers who would build luxury and affordable residential towers, preventing future expansion of the shipping industry there.

The EDC plan was approved by what they now call a vote of the community but was really a vote of 28 people that they chose to be on a task force.

The PACT plan does not depend on a vote by the NYCHA community, all that has to happen is for the TA President to present the plan to those who attend her meetings, so that NYCHA can claim a transparent process.

Red Hook West’s TA president is Karen Blondel, who was also one of those chosen to be on the EDC Task Force. The Task Force meetings were closed to the public (see story on page 9, and the Red Hook West meetings were open only to residents, although reliable reports say that generally only 15 residents attend the meetings (out of around 3700 tenants).

There was intense pressure placed on various BMT Task Force members to vote in favor of the plan, often accompanied by business considerations – called by Jo Anne Simon, a local politician who was on the task force – as ‘side deals.’

We understand from sources that the PACT meetings held by Red Hook West do not allow for much criticism of the program.

In both cases participants were urged to give suggestions as to what they would like to be included.

This is called in the industry of public engagment as “checking the boxes.”

Both groups hired public relations consultants. The BMT sessions were led by the head of the EDC, and the PACT sessions included NYCHA representatives.

The point is that in both cases, city agencies already had their decisions made, but use the pretense of public engagement as cover to avoid both negative publicity and potential lawsuits.

PACT opposition
While Red Hook West considers a shift to Section 8 which removes NYCHA protections but brings in private managers, citywide organizers of public housing residents are sounding off about what residents should keep in mind about their future situation under PACT.

“There seems to be a push to get as many RAD PACT conversions as possible,” said Michael Stanley, an organizer for Metro IAF, a group that organizes for NYCHA residents.

Stanley recommended that developments considering a PACT conversion review other options as well, such as the NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust, a public entity that funds repairs and keeps developments under NYCHA ownership.

The trust, founded in 2022, funded its first round of NYCHA repairs in Brooklyn at the Nostrand Houses.

“In terms of the scope of work, in terms of their honesty and engagement with tenants, they [the trust] appear to be doing things the right way,” said Stanley.

The veteran Metro IAF organizer said Red Hook residents should ask NYCHA to consult the Ombudsperson Call Center (OCC) for any plumbing, mold and ventilation issues that could be addressed in renovation plans. (The OCC is an independent agency that NYCHA residents can utilize to handle certain repair complaints, such as mold.)

“The only positive things that happened have happened when the OCC got involved,” said Stanley, regarding residents’ testimonies of repairs at Boulevard and Linden Houses, which both underwent PACT. “Now at Boulevard, they started to make some other improvements on non-mold issues because we just banged on their heads long enough.”

“We basically have embraced this totally lazy scheme where we are of the belief that by partnering with a private developer, we’re fixing our problem,” said Layla Law-Gisiko, a NYCHA tenant advocate and City Council District 3 candidate. “We’re not fixing anything. We’re just kicking the can down the road.”

Law-Gisiko said a better alternative to PACT would be simply boosting funding for public housing. One way to do this, she proposed, is to repeal rebates on the state’s stock transfer tax and dedicate the revenue to infrastructure such as NYCHA.

“Public housing should have its dedicated stream of funding that comes in addition to the subsidy that the federal government is giving to NYCHA,” said Law-Gisiko.

The NYCHA advocate said that if she’s victorious in the District 3 race, she’s intent on advocating for a fix to public housing that doesn’t require demolishing homes.

Relocation issues
After a fatal fire displaced over 100 residents at Boston Secor Houses in the Bronx, (a PACT property), Dare to Struggle NYC hopped in to protect tenants’ demands, some of which include booting the property manager, Wavecrest Management, and charging them with manslaughter in the death of Ronald McCallister, a resident there.

“They’re completely traumatized from just being in that building,” said Hanna Sky, an organizer with Dare to Struggle.

Sky said residents shared their experiences under Wavecrest after the fire, with many reporting they were relocated to hotels far from the Eastchester housing complex and given spoiled food there.

Sky said Wavecrest held a fire safety workshop for residents after the blaze, which angered residents, many of whom had reported concerns about gas leaks weeks before the fire.

“Nobody checked in on them,” said Sky. “Residents were obviously very upset about this; they know that this was not a fire safety issue that had blame on residents.”

Sky has no faith in the PACT program, saying, “overall what we’re seeing is that all of these management companies are not doing a good job.”

The Dare to Struggle organizer said that Red Hook West should be vigilant about whether it’s getting to vote on a PACT conversion and if the scope of work addresses building infrastructure, such as exterior walls, water and heating systems.

“Whoever is advocating in their building, it should be that there is no PACT and that even with no PACT, they should be making demands on NYCHA instead of passing it on to a privatized development .”

John Mudd, president of the Midtown South Community Council, a non-profit fighting for economic justice, said, “Nobody wants private profiteers,” talking about PACT.

“If they do, if they say they do, then they’re a little confused or they don’t know what it’s all about in detail,” said Mudd, who’s been involved in the campaign against the Fulton-Elliot-Chelsea Houses demolition.

This paper received an email about the new Mayor’s failure so far to deal with NYCHA problems. It said:
Residents to Preserve Public Housing (RPPH) and Save Section 9, are tenant-led organizations and the Committee for Independent Community Action (CICA) are advocating for the rehabilitation and expansion of public housing through education, organizing, and mobilizing our neighbors.

We rally to raise urgent awareness surrounding Mayor Mamdani’s failure to prioritize the only truly affordable housing in NYC. We also reaffirm that public housing residents must be partners in shaping housing policy — not excluded from it.

We will also highlight the Mayor’s erroneous support of the unnecessary demolition of the Fulton, Elliot, and Chelsea Houses.

The law is clear: residents have the right to a seat at the table. Attempts to redesign decision-making processes without meaningful tenant participation ignore existing legal rights and undermine transparency and accountability.

Tenants will also present demands and solutions to address the $41.4B shortfall facing NYCHA.

These two groups are trying to preserve Section 9 and have more information about PACT. You can contact them through the online contacts below:

Contact: Residents to Preserve Public Housing (RPPH)
Coalition Partners: Save Section 9, Committee for Independent Community Action (CICA)