New York City Housing Authority may have been cooperating with a Department of Justice investigation for months without the mayor’s knowledge.
NYCHA chair and CEO Shola Olatoye told reporters following an event at New York Law School Friday she had been aware of the investigation into the authority since it was launched in October 2015. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he only found out about the investigation when it became public Wednesday.
“We’ve heard as you have, less than 24 hours ago, and we’re waiting for the full information,” de Blasio told reporters at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Thursday.
In an emailed statement, a City Hall spokesperson said NYCHA had been cooperating with the corporation counsel for months, but gave no indication as to when the mayor became aware of the investigation. Or if he was briefed on it at all.
The City Hall spokesperson noted that, “Inquiries from the US Attorney are not uncommon, and city agencies cooperate fully with data requests. The Mayor is generally made aware of these requests. In this instance, the Mayor wasn’t briefed on what considered a routine request for info at the time.”
However, Olatoye’s characterized the request, following the breakfast event at New York Law School, as a burden on the agency, not routine. She said the DOJ’s request for over 400 million records went “over every facet of the operations,” and was “very expansive.” These records included training materials, elevator information, presentations, and reports.
The spokesperson went on to say that the Mayor was briefed, “when we learned the specific nature of the inquiry involved lead paint conditions at NYCHA,” on Wednesday.
The health department declined to comment on when they received the initial request from the DOJ requesting information on elevated lead levels in NYCHA apartments. Nor would the agency state when they communicated the DOJ’s request to the Mayor. Instead, the health department’s press office referred requests for comment to the corporation counsel’s office.
The DOJ’s investigation into NYCHA began in October 2015. It became public on Wednesday when U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara’s office was granted an order that compelled the health department to hand over any information it had on elevated lead levels in NYCHA apartments, and any reports on how it has handled environmental complaints.
The DOJ is also looking into allegations that NYCHA may have falsely reported building conditions when requesting funding from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development.
NYCHA has been working with the DOJ since the start of the investigation. Olatoye said the authority has already handed over a total of 440 million records since the DOJ began its inquiry. The housing authority also assembled a team specifically tasked with handling the DOJ’s requests.
NYCHA has handed over 30 compact discs that contained information including presentations, training manuals, information on elevators and other reports. The authority also handed over a hard drive with six years worth of work orders.
The U.S. attorney’s office was able to secure such a large swathe of documents due to new civil powers awarded to prosecutors following 2008’s financial meltdown. Katherine A. Lemire, a former assistant to the U.S attorney and assistant to the Manhattan DA who now runs Lemire LLC, explained these powers allow prosecutors to issue “subpoenas on steroids,” so prosecutors can make very broad requests on little pretense.
The DOJ has yet to issue a formal complaint, and the mayor’s office and NYCHA both claim to be in the dark over what sparked the inquiry.
“I don’t know what prompted this,” Olatoye said.