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Making the Connection: Economic Opportunity for Public Housing Residents
Victor Bach, Thomas J. Waters
Summary: The Section 3 provision of the 1968 Housing Act requires the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) to use its multi-billion dollar annual HUD funding to maximize job and training opportunities for low-income New Yorkers, with particular preference for those in public housing. In 2008, an estimated 20,000 public housing residents were seeking employment, a figure that dwarfs the hundreds assisted by the Authority’s Section 3 efforts. Despite persistent negative images of public housing , the report finds that rates of unemployment and youth disconnection in NYCHA developments are no different from citywide rates for communities of similar economic and racial/ethnic composition. Recommendations are made to strengthen the NYCHA Section 3 program.
Issues: Affordable Housing, Workforce
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