New Housing Authority director looks to start small while settling into the job
October 5, 2023 at 4:25 a.m.
It had been such a short amount of time since he had started his new position that Michael Morris described his office as “still the other guy’s.”
The new executive director of the Port Chester Housing Authority was still getting his grips on the system during a chat in that office on Sept. 19, opting to call other members of his team on their cell phones, as he hadn’t yet memorized all the office extension numbers.
After all, he had only been there in his new capacity for a week. And he has more important tasks on his docket that take priority.
The Port Chester Housing Authority (PCHA), established in 1942, is an agency with the mission to “operate and maintain safe and affordable federally subsidized housing for low-income families and senior citizens,” according to their website. The agency maintains three buildings designed to house families and two for senior living, with a total of 340 apartments.
To be considered to live in one of the units, families must fall into one of the income limit categories set by the county. The “very low-income limit,” for example, would define a family of four making $73,400 or less per year. Though that may seem high, the PCHA is required to ensure that for every 10 families admitted, four must be families that make 30% or below the median income. This year, for a family of four, that range is $44,050 or below per year.
Though the PCHA had been run by Robert Vyskocil for the last 10 years, the Board of Commissioners opted to replace him with Morris. When Vyskocil’s contract expired this year, the PCHA received “well over 30 applications for the position,” said PCHA Board Chairman Steven Carroll.
Morris was selected based off his “great deal of knowledge working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and all the rules that come along with it,” Carroll said.
Carroll stated that Morris’s current contract is only for one year and that next September, his performance will be reviewed and a new contract will be drawn or the board will once again search for a new director.
Though always keen on speaking about public housing, Morris is willing to pause any conversation, including the one with this reporter, to answer a phone call and speak with any of the 761 registered tenants across the five buildings under the umbrella of the housing authority.
“I want people to know that there’s a new director,” he said of his desire to be available for people. “I want people to know who I am and to talk to me if they see me.” Morris understands what people may want from him and his team, as he has an extensive background in this area.
Although he had most recently been a retiree, the 60-year-old has nonetheless had a wide array of experience when it comes to housing that qualified him for the position. In Connecticut, he was a consultant on shelter projects in Stamford and Norwalk and his company maintained a hotel in Danbury that had been converted into housing for people who had a hard time finding rooms. He’s worked for the Spring Valley Housing Authority, and in the early 2010s, his background led him to his first stint in Port Chester.
“I got asked to help out here,” he recalled of his employment with the PCHA, “and it turned into a two-year gig.”
Working within the weatherization program, Morris updated windows and roofs to keep tenants safe from the elements. It was during this time that his dream of one day running a housing authority took shape.
“Respecting the board and respecting the tenants, I saw things in 2012 that I couldn’t touch that I thought could be done better,” he said. Now that he does have a hand in control, he has begun a long process of deciding what to tackle first.
“I’m still in the evaluation stage,” he said. “When that’s done, then I can consider any long-term changes.” He spent his first week touring the five buildings that fall into his purview—inspecting individual apartments, portions of buildings and parking lots to see what condition they’re in and introducing himself to tenants.
He has a growing list of improvements he wants to make, but the changes will start small.
One of the first things Morris wants to change is something that tenants don’t see. “The technology stuff hasn’t caught up here,” he said, referring to the program currently used by maintenance staff to log work orders which doesn’t let them track the status. An upgrade would be a minor modification but one that could drastically improve the time it takes for him to communicate with tenants on whether something has been fixed in their apartment.
But a more front-facing change is what he’s focused on right now.
“We’ve been missing a receptionist,” he explained, referring to the empty desk that sits behind a glass wall which is the first thing you see when entering the office. “It’s been a few months, and I can’t have that.” Adamant that filling this post is a top priority for him, he stated that this position is key to his long-term vision.
Morris emphasized that communication between the tenants and his team is vital to both being happy with the work being done. “I’d prefer a Spanish speaker, but the board has to approve hirings,” he said, lamenting that there are few people with that qualification who took the Civil Service exam. “Sometimes you have to live with the red tape.”
These are just the first things that Morris can tackle on his list, having only been at his desk for a short time. But he’s keen to get the ball rolling.
Though his long-term goals are up in the air, as he still works to figure out what the state of the program is, his mission is broad yet critical. “I want people to feel happy about their housing,” he said. “People who live here should be able to enjoy a clean and safe space.”
He foresees a long road ahead to achieve this aspiration, but he hopes to reach it sooner rather than later. “Some people have this job for 10 years. My goal is to get better before 10 years. I don’t think tenants want to wait that long either.”
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