NEW YORK – There’s been a sweeping crackdown on alleged bribery for contracts in New York City Housing Authority buildings. 

More than 70 current and former NYCHA employees are facing bribery and extortion charges. Officials say it’s the largest amount of federal bribery charges ever issued on a single day. 

The bribes – more than $2 million in total – allegedly took place at nearly a third of all NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs of New York City. 

NYCHA – the largest public housing authority in the nation – receives more than $1.5 billion a year from the federal government. One in 17 New Yorkers lives in a NYCHA building. 

“As we allege, the 70 defendants charged today allegedly demanded over $2 million in bribe money from contractors in exchange for giving out over $13 million of work on NYCHA buildings. And if the contractors didn’t pay up, the defendants wouldn’t give them the work. That’s classic pay-to-play, and this culture of corruption at NYCHA ends today,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “The corruption we’ve alleged infected every corner of the city. As the charges show, superintendents accepting and extorting bribes from contractors had become business as usual, occurring at almost 100 NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs. That’s nearly a third of all NYCHA buildings.” 

Williams said the contracts, under $10,000 each, involved essential work like plumbing and window repairs. They were no-bid contracts, where superintendents and assistant superintendents could hire the workers directly. They then wouldn’t sign off on payment to the contractors without a kickback, the feds say. 

All of the charged NYCHA employees are being suspended, effective immediately, Williams said.   

“NYCHA has ZERO tolerance for wrongful and illegal activity,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “The individuals allegedly involved in these acts put their greed first and violated the trust of our residents, their fellow NYCHA colleagues and all New Yorkers. These actions are counter to everything we stand for as public servants and will not be tolerated in any form. In the past five years, NYCHA has achieved many significant milestones, while remaining vigilant to ensure integrity in every area of our work. We have already made transformative changes to our business practices and will continue to do so. We will not allow bad actors to disrupt or undermine our achievements.”