The federal housing secretary has not been a frequent visitor to public housing developments here. In New York City.

But Ben Carson was inside a black SUV on Friday rolling into Ocean Bay Apartments. The visit was not on any public schedule, and it comes just three days before the city's housing authority gets a new leader.

Greg Russ starts his job as NYCHA Chair and CEO on Monday.

"It's terrific. It's an example of what can be done with public private partnership," Carson told NY1 as he left the development.

This development is very different than other NYCHA properties.

There appears to be no mold and rats.

In 2017, it became the first project to be converted under a federal program known as RAD - that's when a public housing development is turned into section 8 and a private developer takes over management.

The de Blasio administration is committed to doing the same thing to a third of all of NYCHA's apartments.

Carson's visit here is another example of the federal housing department's support of that program.

"He saw what the future of NYCHA could be for a lot of residents here," Lynne Patton, the regional administrator for HUD, said. "For 62,000 units that the city and HUD have joined forces to ratify this is what they are going to look like."

NY1 was not allowed on the tour. But we know Carson saw a model apartment and went on to the building's roof to see the boilers.

Other officials from NYCHA, federal monitor Bart Schwartz and the local congressman were on the tour too.

Russ was recruited to be the new head of NYCHA in part because he has been a major booster of the RAD program.

We are told Russ, the former head of the housing authority in Minneapolis, has officially moved here. Although he told NY1 he will be spending some weekends in Minneapolis to be with his family who is still living there.