The New York City Housing Authority’s new federal monitor is assembling a team of high-profile lawyers and consultants – but officials won’t say how much the squad is costing taxpayers. The hiring spree stems from an unprecedented agreement the de Blasio administration made in January with federal prosecutors and the U.S. Department of Housing & […]
Greg B. Smith
Greg is a reporter at THE CITY with a special focus on New York City’s housing developments and the city’s housing crisis.
Posted inSpecial Report
PAC-Man de Blasio Gobbles Up Donations from People with City Business
Mayor Bill de Blasio is personally soliciting donations for his political action committee – reaping money from sources that include individuals seeking favorable treatment from his administration, an investigation by THE CITY found. The revelations about de Blasio’s Fairness PAC – which he’s using, in part, to pay for travels exploring a presidential bid – […]
Posted inConflicts of Interest
Mayor de Blasio’s Defunct Fundraising Group Faces Ongoing State Ethics Probe
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s defunct nonprofit fundraising group is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the state’s ethics watchdog, THE CITY has learned. The Campaign for One New York, which raised millions from individuals doing business with de Blasio’s administration, began operations as the mayor arrived at City Hall in 2014. It took in […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Mayor de Blasio Violated Ethics Rules in Seeking Donations Despite Warnings, Probe Finds
Mayor Bill de Blasio violated conflict of interest rules after being warned repeatedly not to solicit donations from individuals actively seeking tax breaks, deed transfers and other favors from his administration, according to a Department of Investigation report obtained by THE CITY. The finding followed a two-and-a-half year DOI probe that ended in October but […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Dialing 911 Daily: How Mental Health Crisis Strains Neighborhoods
At the far edge of Queens sits the imposing beige-brick Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, looming over surrounding suburban streets lined with matching red-brick co-op apartments with small green lawns and tidy white shutters. For the most part, this huge state-run facility keeps to itself. But lately, neighborhood residents have noted a growing number of men – […]
Posted inLife
De Blasio Slammed for Leaving Senior Housing Funds Out of Budget
A year after Mayor Bill de Blasio stood on the steps of City Hall and promised $500 million to build senior citizen housing on public lots, his administration this week quietly conceded the money was not put in his budget, THE CITY has learned. Top city housing officials confirmed in a letter to city Comptroller […]
Posted inNYCHA
Cuomo Ready to Deliver on Long-Delayed NYCHA Aid, Says Monitor
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is on the verge of releasing $450 million in state funds for New York City Housing Authority boiler and elevator repairs — money promised for as long as two years but delayed due to his concerns about authority mismanagement, NYCHA’s federal monitor said. Bart Schwartz told a Manhattan Community Board 3 meeting […]
Posted inNYCHA
HUD Official Eyes Fines in NYCHA Attempted Sex Abuse Case
A top federal housing official is considering seeking steep fines against two NYCHA workers after THE CITY revealed one of the men was arrested on attempted sexual assault charges while on the job. Lynne Patton, regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s New York office, said in a tweet Monday she […]
Posted inNYCHA
Former Texas Mayor Emerges as Top Candidate in NYCHA Chief Search
The top candidate to lead NYCHA is Saul Ramirez Jr., a tech company executive who for years ran a Washington group lobbying on behalf of housing authorities nationwide, THE CITY has learned. Ramirez emerged as the No. 1 choice to take over as NYCHA chairman weeks after a Jan. 30 pact between city and federal […]
Posted inNYCHA
On-Duty NYCHA Repairman Charged With Sex Abuse in Tenant’s Apartment
It was the coldest day of the year, in the depths of the polar vortex, as tenants in more than 10,000 public housing apartments shivered amid heat outages across the city. That’s when two New York City Housing Authority workers — on call as part of the agency’s ramped-up effort to combat the deep freeze […]