Trying to make sure that Red Hook West residents know all the facts about PACT privatization

A meeting at Red Hook Initiative (RHI) on October 16 informed Red Hook Residents about the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program and how it could affect them.

Local leaders, including Andrea McKnight, Henry Watkins, and Gene Bray, spoke to the crowd of approximately 35 people. Representatives from District 38 Council Member Alexa Aviles and District 51 Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes also attended.

Red Hook West has begun the PACT process of converting from Section 9 public housing to Project-Based Section 8. The housing in Section 8 is privately owned, and tenants use vouchers or properties receive subsidies to rent units from private landlords.

The first of four phases of the process, which included community planning for Red Hook West, has already been completed, but leaders of the meeting said that this does not guarantee that Red Hook West will undergo the conversion, and they encouraged everyone to get the word out to neighbors who could not attend the meeting.

Leaders also warned about the possibility of residents being displaced during the process and being relocated to places like the South Jamaica Houses or the Bronx. NYCHA’s official policy states that will not happen, but many residents are skeptical. A big part of the meeting was explaining what PACT conversion would mean for residents.

“This is not a call for a coup against our tenant association president, but this is a call to make our voices heard and make sure our leaders are advocating for us,” Watkins said. “We need to get the word out, so that means telling your neighbors, and if there are meetings you can’t attend in the future, they can go and let you know what’s going on.”

Under federal rules, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is not legally required to hold a formal resident ballot or election to convert a development to PACT. However, one thing that everyone in attendance agreed on was that they want to have a vote about PACT in Red Hook West, and they want it to be a fair decision about PACT conversion.

Late in the meeting, McKnight passed out a petition that those in attendance could sign against Red Hook West moving forward with PACT conversion without a vote.

When asked about how many signatures would be needed, she said, “There is no set amount, so we would like to get as many as possible. We need to let as many people as possible know how this would affect them.”