NYCHA-related complaints to New York City’s Department of Investigation have nearly doubled over the last few years.
Many of those complaints are related to housing fraud, which the city says it’s working to combat.
Some tenants say they’re fed up.
“It’s done all the time”
Carmen Quinones leads the tenant association at the Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side. She and her neighbors told CBS News New York that lately they’re concerned about people who aren’t listed as tenants.
“It’s done all the time. There’s people living in these apartments that have no business living in these apartments. They have five and six people that don’t belong here,” Quinones said.
Tenant Felix Ortiz said he’s heard about it happening “a lot.”
CBS News New York filed a request for public records and found the DOI catches between 60-70 NYCHA tenants committing various types of housing fraud per year across the city.
CBS News New York
In 2023, the city’s Department of Investigation determined a tenant at the Frederick Douglass Houses was subletting her $144 a month unit for $1,500 a month. The DOI referred the case to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Investigators said the tenant actually lived in Brooklyn with her boyfriend.
“They go wherever. The truth of the matter is the shortage in housing is bad,” Quinones said.
“People squat. People trap. Plenty of times,” tenant Maye Ashby said.
Dozens of NYCHA housing fraud cases each year
CBS News New York filed a request for public records and found the DOI catches between 60-70 NYCHA tenants committing various types of housing fraud per year across the city.
Cases in the last few years include NYCHA leaseholders living elsewhere, including as far as Texas, as well as people who lived in NYCHA homes but underreported their income by tens of thousands of dollars. In one case, a NYCHA employee moved in with his girlfriend in a NYCHA unit without reporting the move or his salary, which would have drastically increased the rent.
“It’s certainly a priority for us anytime there’s an apartment that isn’t being used,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said.
Strauber said while the vast majority of NYCHA tenants follow the rules, it’s important to catch those who don’t.
“To ensure that the program is seeing the right people. We want to make sure that if it’s being abused, that’s something we’re targeting,” Strauber said.
Complaints involving NYCHA have nearly doubled recently
NYCHA-related complaints to Strauber’s office, including not just housing fraud but employee misconduct, bribery and various types of corruption, have almost doubled in recent years:
In 2022, there were 1,700 complaintsIn 2023, there were 2,500 complaintsIn 2024, there were 3,300 complaints
Strauber said housing fraud can be difficult to prove, but when it is proven, her office tries to recover the lost money by referring the cases to prosecutors or entering into repayment agreements with tenants. In the last five years, Strauber says those methods recovered $1.5 million.
“So that’s a concrete and very positive result from the city,” Strauber said.
Tenants at the Douglass Houses say more needs to be done.
“They’re catching it. But, like I said, out of 700, if they catch 10, they think it’s something great. Meanwhile, it’s just a penny out of the bucket,” Ortiz said.
NYCHA would not agree to an on-camera interview, but a spokesperson tells us the agency has zero tolerance for housing fraud as it’s not only a crime, but strains resources, creates safety concerns and reduces access for eligible families on NYCHA’s waitlist. NYCHA said it works with Strauber’s office and other agencies to catch people committing fraud and get them out of NYCHA housing.
The Department of Investigation says the number one thing NYCHA tenants can do is report suspected fraud to the city.