DHCR Commissioner Deborah Van Amerongen (appointed by Gov. Spitzer) agrees with the Inspector General's recommendations.

Click here for a copy of the report, and click on "read more" below for a news article in the New York Daily News.

Affordable housing agency teeming with abuse - report

DAILY NEWS STAFF

Wednesday, September 19th 2007, 5:30 PM

A scathing report has determined that management of New York's landmark Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program was "grossly deficient" under former Governor George Pataki's administration.

The office of State Inspector General Kristine Hamann strongly rebuked the New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHRC) for its management of Mitchell-Lama between January 2003 and October 2006, during Pataki's tenure.

According to the report, the DHCR floundered in its attmepts to enforce rules that ensure housing is assigned fairly and applicants meet financial requirements.

The result was that people who qualified for housing often languished for years on waiting lists, while others who did not meet the program's requirments got bumped to the top of the line.

Employees of the DHCR were also much more likely to get housing placements, resulting in criminal prosecution in several cases.

The Mitchell-Lama program was started in 1955 and provides land and government financing for developers to build low- and middle-income housing, which is then subsidized by the state.

About 190 housing projects, most of them in New York City, fall under the program's jurisdiction.

The report states that the DHCR failed to enforce rules "designed to ensure proper financial management and fair assignment of apartments."

Furthermore, "These failures were obscured and, in fact, encouraged by the lack of any formal system to monitor receipt and review of required documents, sloppiness in record-keeping, and inadequate supervision of employees."

"DHCR, through its own shortcomings, has allowed housing companies to flout rules regarding apartment allocation, financial reporting, and contracting," the report said.

"DHCR's deep and systemic failures have resulted in deterioration of facilities, waste of taxpayer money, increase in charges to tenants, and the allocation of apartments to unqualified applicants at the expense of those legitimately entitled to those same apartments."

The report recommended extensive reform at DHCR, including:

• Making sure waiting list rules and income eligibility standards are strictly enforced.

• Creating an independent system to monitor DHRC's compliance with laws, rules and regulations, and documenting instances in which the requirements are waived.

• Developing more detailed written policies and training systems.

• Maintaining records of all complaints and their outcomes.

Deborah VanAmerongen, the new DHCR commissioner brought in by current Governor Eliot Spitzer, agreed with the report's recommendations.

She said the agency is undergoing a shake-up to wipe out abuse and attempt to regain the public trust.