Chairman John B. Rhea accompanied the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develeopment (HUD) Deputy Secretary, Ron Sims on a walking tour of NYCHA’s Lower East Side II (LES II) development on June 19, 2009. Deputy Secretary Sims is responsible for managing HUD's day-to-day operations, a nearly $39 billion annual operating budget and the agency's 8,500 employees.

The small, scattered-site LES II development consists of four 3-story buildings that contain 186 apartments that are home to 564 residents. Almost $1 million in federal stimulus funds will be used to provide roof replacements in four of the buildings. The work, scheduled to begin in July, will create six jobs, including two for NYCHA residents.

While in the Lower East Side, Chairman Rhea and HUD Deputy Secretary Sims also visited Wald Houses, a more traditional hi-rise development completed in 1949. Major renovation work had been completed in two phases at the historic development in 2005 and 2008, for a total cost of $59.5 million. The development’s 16 buildings, from 10 to 14 stories, contain 1,857 apartments that provide homes for approximately 4,150 residents. Chairman Rhea and Deputy Secretary Sims were accompanied on their tour by State Assembly Member Brian P. Kavanagh and State Senator Daniel Squadron.

By Howard Silver
June 23, 2009