Anita Haines, manager of the Hope Gardens Community Center, was arrested Thursday for stealing from the housing authority. (From Haines’ Facebook profile)

A Bushwick community leader who worked for the New York City Housing Authority was arrested Thursday for allegedly embezzling several thousand dollars received from residents who rented facilities at the community center of the Hope Gardens public housing complex on Central Avenue.

The Department of Investigation announced it arrested Hope Gardens Director Anita Haines, 52, and charged her with several counts of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, which upon conviction can be punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn noted that her department began its investigation after it was notified by NYCHA that Haines allegedly allowed an unauthorized rental at the community center she manages.

Haines’ job as director included managing a summer camp and several afterschool youth activities on site as well as renting out use of the community center for neighborhood community groups and residents.

The Department of Investigation learned that 12 individuals paid Haines to rent the center or attend summer camp between January 2008 and April 2010, but she did not report or forward any of those payments to the city — leaving NYCHA wondering where its money went.

"This defendant was paid to manage a city-run community center, but instead, she traded her integrity for easy cash, abused her position, and pocketed several thousand dollars of public funds, according to the criminal complaint," said Hearn. "Her arrest shows that criminal prosecution awaits any individual who exploits his or her city job to steal."

Haines, who earns $53,460 per year, has worked for NYCHA since 1986 and has been a regular attendee of Community Board 4 meetings. She works closely with the board and with the 83rd Precinct, hosting the precinct’s programs for its youth officers. This summer, she helped coordinate the Bushwick Day Parade, which concluded with a barbecue at the community center’s grounds.

Her arrest is the second in the past six months of a staff member who worked at Hope Gardens. In April, a Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council worker, Tyess Crespo, was arrested after allegedly submitting fake attendance sheets for a karate program held at the center that did not exist. She pocketed $4,080 and soon lost her job.