On January 1, 2017, the Ocean Bay (Bayside) Apartments became the first property in the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) portfolio to begin transitioning into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. RAD enables housing authorities to preserve and improve public housing by leveraging additional funding from the private sector (both debt and equity) to make improvements. Long-term unit affordability is shifted from the public housing authority, and becomes protected under Section 8, the federal affordable housing program. The 1,400-unit Bayside complex encompasses 24 buildings in Arverne-Edgemere, Queens, and needs substantial investment to repair aging facilities and replace critical infrastructure damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2011. The three-year, $327 million project will include: kitchen and bathroom renovations in every apartment; security improvements; repair and replacement of deteriorating infrastructure, including roofs and elevator machinery; and extensive resiliency measures. Karp Strategies led Enterprise’s research and evaluation of the Bayside conversion to the RAD program. The firm developed a dynamic research agenda that collected information through bilingual focus groups and interviews with residents, resident leaders, and members of the RAD development team, including community partners and property management. This on-the-ground stakeholder input provided holistic feedback of the RAD transition and resulted in a comprehensive, actionable final report.