New NYCHA head spent over $40G in travel expenses at old gig

He likes to hit the road almost as much as his boss does.

The new head of the New York City Housing Authority averaged nearly one business trip a month over more than two years at his last job — and racked up more than $40,000 in travel expenses doing it, The Post has learned.

NYCHA Chairman Greg Russ did not shy away from attending out-of-town conferences and going on fact-finding missions while running the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, records reveal.

His penchant for getaways dovetails neatly with that of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who appointed Russ to his $403,000-a-year job in June in between frequent out-of-town jaunts to pursue his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Records obtained under Minnesota’s Data Practices Act show that Russ took 27 trips between February 2017 and July 2019, before he left to take his lucrative new job in the Big Apple.

Russ’ receipts show he regularly exceeded the rules that govern how much New York City employees are allowed to spend on lodging during work-related trips.

Those caps mirror federal limits, which vary by city.

Russ’ spending also appears to have flown in the face of the Minnesota housing authority’s travel policy, which mandates that “the most advantageous means of transportation be used” and that employees staying in hotels “share rooms in appropriate situations.”

Russ’ travel included:

•  A visit to New York City on Oct. 2 and 3, 2017, to attend a 45-minute panel discussion at a NYCHA staff retreat. Russ spent a total of $1,683, including $976 on plane fare and $484 on a room at the swank Millennium Hilton hotel that overlooks the Oculus transit hub and mall at the World Trade Center.
• A trip to Washington, DC, on Nov. 13 and 14, 2017, for a “strategy session” with the Democratic Congressional Black Caucus. He rang up $1,386 in bills, including $634 on airfare and $594 on a room in the Marriott Marquis hotel in DC’s trendy Shaw neighborhood. The pretax, $519-a-night rate was more than two and a half times New York City’s cap of $201.
• A return to Cambridge, Massachusetts — where he formerly ran that city’s Housing Authority — on Oct. 11 and 12, 2018, to attend the dedication of a building whose renovation he had arranged and ostensibly to prepare for another trip there later that month. The visit cost $925, including $345 worth of flights and a $501 stay at the four-star Le Meridien hotel.

Three of Russ’ trips were paid for with grant money, including from Minneapolis’ McKnight Foundation, records show.

Although Russ won’t be able to spend as freely with New Yorkers’ tax money, “his history of profligate spending in Minneapolis raises questions about whether his judgment is fiscally sound,” said Councilman Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), a frequent NYCHA critic.

“Nothing is more central to good government than the proper management of public funds … You cannot squander it freely, as you see fit.”

NYCHA spokeswoman Barbara Brancaccio defended Russ’ travel, saying: “These were approved and legitimate expenses, some paid for with non-governments funds, and all subject to the strict rules of the housing authority and aimed at ensuring the public’s business is done well and responsibly.”

The Minnesota housing authority did not comment on the spending but defended the junkets, saying they helped “advance the long-term housing security and well-being of the families MPHA serves.”

Additional reporting by Bruce Golding

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