Housing hope. (Brownstoner)

All the local scrutiny of the city’s Housing Authoirty this summer has caught Washington’s attention, as well, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is reviewing the public housing agency’s books to make sure everything is in order, according to a spokesman.

The review began earlier this month, HUD public affairs officer Jerrod Brown said, and was prompted by reports in the Daily News of mismanaged funds. Mr. Brown stressed that the review was still in its earlier stages and was not a condemnation or confirmation any wrongdoing of NYCHA. Instead, the review is a matter of practice.

“News reports like the series on NYCHA often result in reviews, audits and investigations,” Mr. Brown said in an email. “Some recent examples are Philadelphia and the Harris County Housing Authority in Texas.” In those cases, officials in Phillie and Houston were misspending federal funds. In the former case, there were some lavish gifts, well documented (or poorly documented, in the case of the accused), including a party with show girls.

So far the charges against NYCHA have been far less, namely that the agency does not work fast enough, but that has been the focus of an internal investigation the agency has been conducting on itself. Some money has not been spent simply due to the wheels of bureaucracy turning. With the largest housing agency in the country, New York can take years to put the billions of dollars in federal funds it receives to use.

Mr. Brown said the review was not prompted by calls to action from any local politicians, such as would-be Congressman Hakeen Jeffries, who recently held a press conference calling for a full investigation of NYCHA’s practices.

Last week, Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, chair of the housing committee and a defender of NYCHA, told The Observer she thought an investigation was unnecessary. "The money is getting spent," she said. "The reports are false and misleading, so I don't know that an investigation is prudent."

A NYCHA spokeswoman declined to comment on the review until it was completed.

Mr. Brown said HUD already took an enthusiastic view of some changes NYCHA has announced following an internal review of the agency performed by the Boston Consulting Group.

"We support changes to the structure of the Board, and look forward to working with NYCHA to ensure that the board structure is consistent with best practices nationally," Mr. Brown said. "We are fully committed to working with NYCHA, its residents, and other key stakeholders to improve NYCHA and strengthen its ability to meet its current and future challenges."

The crowd is mostly from Brooklyn and here in suport of the plan for Broadway Triangle, which is supoprted by Levin's old boss, Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez. The plan also has support from a number of Coucil members, but is opposed by another former Lopez aide, City Councilwoman Diana Reyna. Also, Councilwoman Rosie Mendez seems at least skeptical of the grassroots support advocates for the plan are claiming.

It's up for a vote today and I think will pass, but with a smaller margin than most other major land-use issue that hit the City Council recently.

In an interview with The Villager, Mendez criticized Gerson for the role he played in the term-limits fight, dismissing the amendment that he and others tried advancing which would have put the issue on a ballot for voter referendum.

The amendment lost, and Gerson ended up voting to extend term limits. Gerson, and others like David Yassky, have tried to please their progressive, good-government backers by pointing to the failed referendum as proof they haven't compromised their principles.

Some aren’t buying it.

“Alan...all I can say about that amendment is it was lame — and everyone knew it,” Mendez told the Villager.

De Blasio, speaking to reporters at a press conference across the street from City Hall this morning, said he was “surprised” to hear that unions supporting his campaign received inquiries from Gioia trying to capitalize on his removal from the ballot.

“I wouldn’t want to be on a cliff hanging on a stick and relying on Eric Gioia to pull me up,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Representative Ed Towns said he would rather highlight the fact that de Blasio’s two other Democratic opponents, Mark Green and Norman Siegel, immediately called for him to be reinstated.

Also at today’s event were City Council members Letitia James of Brooklyn and Rosie Mendez of Manhattan.

De Blasio said that Henry Berger, the election lawyer who made the mistake that led to his removal from the ballot, is still working on the campaign.

De Blasio said his situation is not unique, and that “there’s many insurgent candidates who are good people, who are standing up for the right ideas, who cannot afford the best lawyers, who cannot sustain a court process.”

Hernandez announced his departure while appearing with Michael Bloomberg during his weekly radio appearance with radio host John Gambling. Hernandez later appeared at a City Council budget hearing, where City Council members praised his tenure.

Hernandez said he was approached by the board of a treatment center, Samaritan Village, earlier this year when that group’s president announced he’d be stepping down after four decades. Hernandez said he approached the mayor, who asked him to stay on at NYCHA through 2008.

Replacing Hernandez temporarily will be agency’s general counsel, Ricardo Morales, who Hernandez described as a “trusted adviser.” During the radio show, Bloomberg said there would be a nationwide search to find a permanent replacement.

City Council member Rosie Mendez, who heads the City Council’s committee on Public Housing, said he was “sorry” to see Hernandez go, and praised his responsiveness.

A reader sent along this photo of Christine Quinn (nice boa!) flanked by Rosie Mendez and Gary Parker of Lambda Independent Democrats, which honored Quinn right before the LGBT Pride Parade in Brooklyn this weekend.

Embattled developer Gregg Singer filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city last week, says The Villager. As we reported earlier, Mr. Singer claims that Mayor Bloomberg and former Councilmember Margarita Lopez worked out a backroom deal to quash his plans for P.S. 64 on East Ninth Street. Mr. Singer claims that the Mayor guaranteed Ms. Lopez a position in his administration and his cooperation in stopping Mr. Singer's school-dorm plan at the site in exchange for Ms. Lopez splitting the Latino vote in the last Mayoral election.

Now Mr. Singer is claiming that his civil rights have been violated (specifically, his rights to due process under the Fifth and 14th Amendments to the Constitution), according to The Villager, and he's suing the Mayor, the Department of Buildings, the Board of Standards and Appeals and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Councilmember Rosie Mendez, who holds Ms. Lopez's previous spot on the Council, provides the money quote: "I can't speak for Margarita, but ... he's a liar." Snap!

-Matthew Grace