Photo: David Handschuh/ALM.

New York City's embattled public housing authority has agreed to a more stringent consent decree in a running, multiyear battle over mold in New York City Housing Authority residents' apartments.

The latest chapter in the suit, Baez v. NYCHA, comes after the plaintiffs claim NYCHA has continued to not be in compliance with the consent decree, first issued in 2014. The agreement submitted to U.S. District Judge William Pauley III of the Southern District of New York on Friday substantially bolsters the requirements and the oversight of the public housing authority.

“NYCHA has continued to breach the original consent decree, with an average time to complete certain repairs exceeding 25 days and a reoccurrence rate of more than 46 percent, so we threatened to take them to court and seek injunctive relief,” Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan of counsel Steven Edwards, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “I am glad we have been able to achieve something that should provide real relief for hundreds of thousands of NYCHA residents who have been suffering as a result of NYCHA's failure to effectively remediate mold.”

The most significant new imposition placed on NYCHA will be an ombudsperson empowered to take action on behalf of residents should the housing authority fall out of compliance. This is on top of a special master that's been in place since February 2016.

NYCHA's compliance will also be more rigid. One of the many concerns faced by the plaintiffs was the coming sun-setting of the earlier consent decree. Now, NYCHA's compliance with remediation provisions will determine the end point of the agreement. Whereas a wait-out-the-clock approach could have afforded the housing authority an out, now the plaintiffs are hoping that only the end of the mold issues in public housing will provide one.

Under the new agreement, the housing authority is required to get the 46 percent reoccurrence rate down to zero, with firm repair time frames put in place. New policies and procedures are also required to fix problems going forward.

The NYCHA must also submit reports to the court, under penalty of perjury. The provision is in response to earlier concerns that the authority was submitting reports that were less than fully truthful.

The agreement announced Friday is the latest in a recent flurry of activity over the state of public housing in the city. The city council has held hearings over residents' issues. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the state would impose its own monitor over the housing authority, in an ongoing battle with Mayor Bill de Blasio. Federal officials, from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have been scrutinizing NYCHA over various issues as well.

In its own press release on Friday's agreement, NYCHA characterized the move in optimistic terms, noting that the agreement includes the roll out of authority-wide of a pilot program developed under the special master that will improve training for staff. The authority pointed to aging and deteriorating infrastructure at NYCHA facilities as the underlying mold culprit.

“This is a positive step for NYCHA and our residents. We appreciate the parties coming together to agree on real goals and science-based solutions that will help public housing residents,” NYCHA general manager Vito Mustaciuolo said in a statement. “Mold is a serious issue, and we are committed to resolving it, not only on the surface but also by uncovering and resolving root causes and educating tenants on how to work with us to prevent mold.”

The plaintiffs are also represented by counsel at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice Inc. and Proskauer Rose.