WILKES-BARRE — As a national housing crisis continues, the heads of the city housing authority praised staff Tuesday for their work as the occupancy rate climbed to a historic high.
“I’ve been on the board a long time and I don’t think I ever saw a 1.2% vacancy rate. So, that’s just fabulous. Judy, thanks to you and all of your staff,” Christine Jensen, authority board chairwoman, said during the monthly board meeting at Lincoln Plaza.
Judy Kosloski, executive director, said she sent emails to all the responsible staff, including maintenance, building managers and assistant managers and tenant selection staff thanking them for their work.
Kosloski said the authority’s four high-rise buildings had no vacancies at all in the month of July, and only 10 family units were vacant for a short time.
“That’s an amazing accomplishment. It’s hard to do,” Kosloski said. “Our maintenance staff work to turn over a unit as quickly as possible. We maintain a waiting list for all bedroom sizes so when a unit is being rehabbed, the tenant selection staff are finalizing their work to have a tenant ready as soon as a unit is completed.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authority had an occupancy rate that fluctuated between 93% and 96%. But since the pandemic, it’s been 97% or higher.
“I think the biggest contributor (to the housing crisis and high demand for authority housing, with rent based on income,) is the high rent amounts being charged for rental properties,” Kosloski said.
Security cameras
In other business, the board unanimously adopted a security camera policy, which Kosloski said came up in discussions with staff.
The policy states that it strives to balance the right to privacy of staff, residents and visitors with their safety needs, and only the executive and deputy directors or their designees will have access to security footage.
The policy includes a form to be used for requesting a review of security footage and a log of any such review, including the name of the reviewer and the purpose for the review.
Video monitoring will be conducted only in areas where residents, staff, visitors and the public do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as building entrances, parking lots, hallways, common areas and laundry facilities. It will not be used to monitor routine staff performance or management issues involving personnel.
Other issues
Kosloski said that while sprinkler installation at Lincoln Plaza is complete, work continues to equip South View Manor and East End Towers with the fire suppressant systems and is set to begin at Valley View.
City Fire Chief and authority board member Jay Delaney noted that sprinkler systems are not required in those buildings by law, but the authority board and administration believe that although expensive, they are vital to protecting residents’ safety.
Kosloski said an architect came up with a rough cost estimate to create more parking at Valley View Terrace as tenants there had requested. She said it would cost about $800,000 to create an additional 20 parking spaces because of the need for retaining walls and a retention pond.
She and Jensen thought it would be a project that would “get put to the side” unless grant money became available.
The board also addressed some issues brought up by residents, such as Cheree McMillan’s complaint that some maintenance work orders “seem to be getting lost,” and her suggestion that inspections should not be announced in advance, but rather on the day of an inspection over building public address systems.
Originally Published: August 19, 2025 at 4:39 PM EDT