The Housing Authority found 5,799 apartments with kids under six that need repairs to prevent possible exposure to lead – more than double the count provided to a federal judge in December.
NYCHA said 2,006 have been completed.
The agency has just a month to deal with the remaining units under deadlines set by the city’s deal with the federal government.
“This number is subject to change. NYCHA has attempted inspection at all units, but is not always able to secure access from the resident,” said agency spokeswoman Jasmine Blake. “As follow-up attempts are made and workers enter those apartments, we expect they will identify units in need of remediation.”
She added: “NYCHA is on track to meet its remediation targets.”
The strict deadlines were set as part of City Hall’s deal with federal regulators to overhaul NYCHA, which provides housing to more than 400,000 New Yorkers through its 325 public housing complexes.
The agreement, struck last Thursday, requires the de Blasio administration to inject $2.2 billion to speed repairs under strict deadlines and requires the appointment of a new federal watchdog to monitor the agency.
Questions about NYCHA’s lead figures erupted after city officials told New York 1 that it fixed half the apartments it found with children – and had 2,850 units left to go.
That information appeared to contradict data provided to Manhattan Federal Judge William Pauley as part of a Dec. 14 filing, which said NYCHA found 2,862 apartments with lead issues.
NYCHA told Pauley it had repaired the peeling paint in 190 apartments, leaving a backlog of 2,672 units.
However, the agency did not mention to Pauley in the filing that the tally could balloon as more inspections were completed.
Nor did the authority mention the filing there were another 1,893 apartments with small children where tenants filed lawsuits to force repairs – bringing the total of apartments requiring action to 5,799.
“The letter to Judge Pauley clearly states the number as of December 11,” Blake said. “There is an annually required visual assessment universe under HUD, which is part of our ongoing compliance. The litigation is a unique universe.”
Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio’s latest choice for interim NYCHA chair, Kathryn Garcia, told reporters Hizzoner pushed her to take the gig.
But she insisted the assignment was voluntary, not ordered.
“He needed to do a little convincing,” said Garcia, who is taking a leave from her job as sanitation commissioner. “As you can imagine, NYCHA is a daunting place to take on. It has a history that’s been pretty challenging. It’s not as if it was I anticipated request.
She added: “It was an ask but I had to think about it.”
She said she expects her new posting to last about three months.