COVID 19 Update #3 from NYCHA

*****COVID 19 Update #3 from NYCHA********

Dear Resident Leader,

The health and safety of our residents and employees is our top priority. We are working with DOHMH, NYCEM and other City, State and Federal partners to closely monitor the current situation related to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in New York City. NYCHA leadership has been working closely with our government partners to ensure our approach and plans are thorough and responsive to a changing environment. We wanted to send an update on our efforts to date:

NYCHA has hired a contractor to clean senior buildings with a two-step treatment plan that includes cleaning and applying a deep-cleaning agent and a bio-ecofriendly protective coating that kills germs before it attaches to the surface. The deep-cleaner and protective coating are applied at the same time and typically lasts for 90 days but we are going to a 30-day cycle as a precautionary measure, and basic cleaning is recommended two times a week after application. Non-senior residences are being cleaned daily by a combination of in-house staff and caretakers and additional cleaning service companies. Our approximately 3,200 caretakers are also responsible for grounds maintenance, sweeping floors, checking roofs and waste removal. NYCHA’s daily cleaning efforts are concentrated in high-traffic areas – including door handles, hopper doors, mailboxes and elevator controls – in our 2,200 buildings, 3,843 lobbies, 3,140 elevators and 25,805 floors.

We continue to make COVID-19 information available through direct outreach to residents through robocalls, emails, multilingual posters, the MyNYCHA App, daily social media posts, and posting on resident, employee and public websites. We are asking residents to utilize our automated and online systems including my NYCHA App, the self-service portal, our Kiosks, to complete their transactions. We are encouraging residents to call the CCC at 718-707-7771 to report emergencies and schedule routine maintenance repairs in their apartments and developments. Trained representatives are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to handle emergencies and to schedule routine maintenance repairs for Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to midnight.

Closures and Suspensions:

Effective immediately, we have suspended all planned outages until further notice. We are halting resident evictions for as long as the City is under a state of emergency. We are encouraging households experiencing loss of income to access our rental hardship program. NYCHA’s Administrative Hearing Office is postponing all cases for two weeks, at which time we will reevaluate the hearing schedule to determine if the postponement should be extended. We are postponing in-person public meetings and events at NYCHA offices and developments for 30 days. We are closing the Brooklyn and Bronx Customer Contact Walk-in Centers to the public, effective Monday, 3/16. We recommend Resident Association leaders postpone large group meetings, including resident elections. Resident engagement team is postponing all resident programs and meetings.

More information on COVID-19 can be found here: New York City Departmentof  Health and Mental Hygiene .

We will continue to keep you updated.

In Partnership,
Resident Engagement Department , NYCHA