Our city’s housing crisis takes many shapes and forms, none more drastic than the current state of the New York City Housing Authority.

The needed repair work for Nycha’s nearly 185,000 apartments adds up quickly—$32 billion over the next five years, the authority estimates, just for capital needs. Many units are so damaged they risk becoming obsolete without these repairs. The Citizens Budget Commission has warned that by 2027, over 90% of Nycha units will be too far gone, and it will be cheaper to build new apartments than to repair the existing ones.

If the city is to raise these funds, the mayor’s office and Nycha must commit to expanding the NextGen Neighborhoods program with a new NextGen 2.0 that includes full market-rate development on underutilized land, the transfer of unused development rights to neighboring property owners and selling unused parcels where appropriate.