With pest complaints and heating problems on the rise, New York City’s Housing Authority is getting a mixed report card from a federal monitor Tuesday.

The report issued by NYCHA’s federal monitor, Bart Schwartz, also finds there have been some improvements in the maintenance of elevators in public housing buildings. It says the agency is on track to have 12% fewer elevator outages than the previous year. 

At the same time, the report found the number of unplanned heating outages during the 2021-2022 heating season increased 22% compared to the prior year. Schwartz says that was because housing officials did not complete its summer preventative maintenance program to stave off boiler malfunctions in the dead of winter. 

The report also notes that it appears the number of pest complaints in NYCHA buildings are increasing. 

Despite some alarming facts, the monitor’s team commended NYCHA for its performance and the “strategic use” of the data in the report. 

“We have worked together over the past three years to build a foundation for NYCHA to make more informed, objective and transparent decisions rooted in a true understanding of what it needs to do to improve how it operates and provide decent, safe and sanitary living conditions for the residents,” said Schwartz. “The Monitor team will continue to work with NYCHA to maximize its resources – in this case, data combined with field observations. Better performance by NYCHA will help gain the trust it needs to obtain additional support and funding.”

Almost four years ago, Schwartz was appointed to oversee the sprawling and scandal-ridden New York City Housing Authority as part of a settlement agreement with federal prosecutors. 

NY1 has reached out to NYCHA for comment.