The chair of the New York City Housing Authority is departing next month after over three years on the job overseeing the city's public housing stock, the largest system of its kind in the nation.
Greg Russ, who was named to the position in August 2019 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, stepped down as CEO in September 2022 while maintaining his position as chair of NYCHA's board.
Russ' final day will be Feb. 10.
NYCHA Vice Chair Victor González will run board meetings until the mayor selects a new chair from a list of candidates compiled by his administration, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and federal prosecutors. The arrangement results from a 2018 settlement that gives the federal government greater control over the beleaguered housing authority.
"Greg Russ came to NYCHA at a critical juncture in the Authority's history. The vision, acumen, and unflagging commitment he brought to NYCHA - honed through decades of strengthening public housing authorities across the country - were instrumental in putting NYCHA on solid footing," said NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt in a statement. "The homes and communities of thousands of families across New York City are better because of Mr. Russ' service and we are incredibly grateful for the leadership he demonstrated throughout his time here."
Bova-Hiatt, previously NYCHA's general counsel, replaced Russ as CEO in September. At the time, the mayor announced a nationwide search was underway to pick a permanent successor.
The move came in the immediate aftermath of a weeklong stretch where residents of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village were told to not drink or cook with their water as the city waited for clarity on a positive arsenic test.
Ultimately, it was determined the tests were incorrect.
Russ, who previously ran the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, drew criticism from the start due to provisions in his over $400,000 a year contract - a 73% increase over his immediate predecessor - that allowed for his return to Minneapolis on weekends to be with his family.
Russ' tenure came as the agency was under the scrutiny of a federal monitor, Bart Schwartz, who was appointed by prosecutors as part of the 2018 settlement. The most recent report from Schwartz, in November, gave NYCHA mixed reviews, noting a 12% decline in elevator outages but a 22% increase in unplanned heating outages.
In a December appearance on "Inside City Hall" with Errol Louis, Schwartz said the housing authority had made significant progress removing lead paint, something NYCHA had failed to do for years in the lead up to the 2018 settlement.
In 2020, Russ proposed restructuring NYCHA by forming a public trust that would give the agency access to billions in federal funding. The state legislature passed a bill doing just that in June 2022 and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law shortly after.
González, the board's vice chair, was appointed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2011, becoming the first public housing resident to serve on the board.