LISC NYC is excited to be part of the PACT Resource Team being established to help public housing residents plan for the future of their community through the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program.
PACT is a critical tool that, through partnerships with private and non-profit development partners, allows NYCHA to not only modernize homes, but also provide enhanced community services and amenities. Public Works Partners, along with LISC NYC, Pratt Institute, and Public Policy Lab, is the Program Administrator for the newly created PACT Resource Team.
This week, LISC NYC and Public Works Partners issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from technical assistance providers to help ensure residents have a voice throughout the PACT investment process. Members of the team will build the capacity of NYCHA resident leaders to facilitate broader resident engagement and will support residents to play a critical role in identifying needs and priorities for investment, selecting PACT Partner teams of developers, general contractors, property managers and social service providers, informing the physical design of developments, planning for new property management, and augmenting social services and economic empowerment resources.
We hope you’ll consider becoming part of the PACT Resource Team, too. To find out more about the work ahead of us, and the role you’ll play as part of the team, check out the Q&A below with NYCHA’s Executive Vice President for Real Estate Development, Jonathan Gouveia.
And don’t forget: applications must be submitted by March 7, 2022, via an online application portal, found here. For more on the PACT Resource Team, view our February 16th information session here.
Please tell us about the vision behind the PACT Resource Team. What prompted NYCHA to create it?
The PACT program gives NYCHA the opportunity to provide significant investment and comprehensive capital upgrades at our developments. This type of investment requires extensive planning and constant engagement with our residents. During our planning process we need time to assess the needs of the buildings and the property and we need to make sure residents play a central role in that planning process. We should make sure that the investments provided through PACT respond directly to our residents’ priorities. And we’ve heard from NYCHA residents that they want to be fully engaged in our planning process but that they need additional resources and technical support to feel like an equal partner at the table.
By working directly with consultants who are part of the PACT Resource Team, NYCHA residents and leaders can be sure that they are fully informed, organized and empowered to help us plan for these significant investments.
This was a request from our residents and is an industry best practice in other countries and cities. We are excited to start pairing our residents with these resources at projects moving forward.
How has NYCHA changed the way it engages residents whose developments are in the PACT program? Where do you think there is room to grow by incorporating tenants further into the PACT planning process?
Over the past year and half, NYCHA has changed our resident planning process.
We spend a lot of time upfront educating residents about the PACT program and learning from them about their lived experiences. We also want to understand the goals and vision they have for their community. We use this information to find partners who are best suited to the needs of each development, and who will eventually conduct the renovations, serve as the property manager, and provide on-site social services.
Residents are also now participating in the review and selection of these partners. As of last year, resident leaders at PACT developments create “Resident Review Committees” to review project proposals and interview potential teams. Once a partner team is selected, they will work directly with the residents who interviewed them. This is a significant shift in the role that residents play in developing plans for the program.
We do understand, however, that there are still opportunities and different ways for us to center our residents’ expertise during the planning process outside of the proposal review process.
There are a lot of important decisions that are made in consultation with residents before we have a final plan for any development. By pairing residents with independent, third-party consultants, resident will have access to technical support and resources that provide them the broadest and deepest understanding of those choices and tradeoffs. This program will ensure that resident involvement is both well-resourced and integrated into the planning process, in ways that are responsive to our tenant leaders’ capacity, and direction.
What are some examples of meaningful ways that NYCHA residents have helped shape the PACT program?
The PACT Resource Team is a great example of this. We heard directly from our resident leaders that they needed more support and that they wanted to work with both NYCHA and other independent professionals.
How do you anticipate the PACT Resource Team will build relationships with NYCHA residents? What impact do you expect this program will have on the PACT process?
The PACT Resource Team is already building relationships with our tenant leaders. They’ve started conversations about how we can best support them during the PACT process, and insights from those conversations are reflected in this RFQ to find technical service providers.
The PACT Resource Team will provide residents with the ability to give meaningful input and feedback on their project – ensuring the project is responsive to each community’s unique needs and opportunities. The members of the PACT Resource Team can help build trust and foster clear communication between NYCHA, the PACT partner team, and residents.