Search For New NYCHA Chief Extended, Mayor Says

NEW YORK — The search for the next chief of New York City's beleaguered public housing agency will continue for another month and a half, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

The city, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office have agreed to extend the hunt for the New York City Housing Authority's next chair and CEO for 45 days, the Democratic mayor said in a statement.

"The three parties will continue working diligently to select the best candidate to lead NYCHA, while NYCHA staff and the monitor work vigorously to improve housing conditions at NYCHA properties," de Blasio said.

A sweeping federal oversight deal reached Jan. 31 effectively directed the city to choose a new leader for NYCHA from a list of candidates approved by HUD and the U.S. Attorney's Office within two months.

The city missed that deadline but reportedly got an initial 45-day extension as de Blasio said the city needed more time to pick a candidate.

Whoever gets the job will be NYCHA's fourth leader in fewer than two years. Kathryn Garcia, formerly the sanitation commissioner, is currently the housing authority's interim chairwoman. She replaced Stanley Brezenoff, who took over after the last permanent chief, Shola Olatoye, stepped down in April 2018.

The new CEO will also be tasked with implementing the reforms laid out in the January agreement, which is meant to address NYCHA's problems with lead paint, mold, pests, elevator breakdowns and heating failures.

De Blasio announced the extension less than a week after a fire killed a family of six in NYCHA's Fred E. Samuels Apartments in Harlem.