(THE CITY) October 8, 2019

Public contracts are generally put up for competitive bidding to make sure taxpayers don’t get soaked.

That’s not always the case at the New York City Housing Authority, where the issuing of no-bid contracts for “micro purchases” under $5,000 has grown in recent years, along with the desperate need for repairs.

Our investigation found that NYCHA has granted more than $250 million in such contracts since 2014 — despite repeated warnings from the city Department of Investigation that the practice is potentially rife with corruption.

We also obtained a DOI report about a contractor who has pocketed nearly $2 million in no-bid contracts — including for work that appears to have actually been performed by NYCHA employees.  

You’ll find much more here in our special report.