Won't Eliminate Deficit
State HA Aid May Not Avert Layoffs

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Funding for the deficit-ridden New York City Housing Authority may soon be on its way from the state, but there is no guarantee that it will stem the 500 planned layoffs.

GREGORY FLOYD: 'Saves jobs if enacted.'

A bill passed by the State Legislature awaiting Governor Spitzer's signature would give the agency an additional $18 million this year. But the HA has a declared deficit of $51.6 million even after the service cuts and layoffs are taken into account, and officials are not making any promises about how they will spend the money. About $4.5 million would have to be contributed by the city.

'Every Dollar Helps'

"Every dollar we would receive will help to mitigate the cuts in services," said HA spokeswoman Sheila Greene.

But she said she didn't "want to speculate" about how the funds will be allocated, insisting that the focus needed to remain on convincing Mr. Spitzer to sign the bill. The layoffs would save the agency about $8 million.

Before making the cuts, the HA had a deficit of $225 million, largely due to cuts in Federal spending. But Albany also shares some responsibility, HA officials and union leaders claim, because it failed to fund 15 state-built complexes for the past decade.

"I believe this would mean saving jobs and services," said President Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237, which has 8,000 members at the HA. "If the Governor signs it, we will discuss with NYCHA how to make sure there are no job losses."

Spokeswoman Christine Prichard said the Governor's Office would review the legislation when it's delivered for Mr. Spitzer's consideration.

Unions Lobbied State

District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, who represents more than 3,000 members at the HA, declined to comment. Her spokeswoman said the union wanted to wait until all decisions were finalized.

All of the affected unions, including the Organization of Staff Analysts, held a meeting during the final week of the June legislative session at the State AFL-CIO headquarters to coordinate their lobbying strategy and give it an extra push. "The message was that the New York State AFL-CIO was behind the bill," said Mr. Floyd. The bill passed during the final hours of the session.

The funding, which would be phased in over two years, would allow the HA to collect the same subsidies for its residents on public assistance as those already received by the same population that lives in private housing.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Andrew J. Lanza (D-S.I.), would also mandate that the city pick up about a quarter of the tab.

"The Mayor strongly supports this bill, which, if signed, will prevent future layoffs by providing the necessary funding to help NYCHA close its budget shortfall," said a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg.

Mr. Floyd said that he believed that the HA would not tell the unions whether the layoffs would be rescinded until it was clear that there was no more money coming from the city, state or Federal government, in order to keep them pressing the issue.