New York Housing Conference and National Housing Conference 40th Annual Awards Program Honors Five Industry Leaders; Calls on Elected Officials to Preserve Programs Critical to Affordable Housing
Today, leaders from the affordable housing industry will gather to honor five award recipients for their contributions in advocating, creating, and revitalizing affordable homes and communities at the New York Housing Conference (NYHC) and the National Housing Conference (NHC) 40th Annual Awards Program, Advocacy to the 40th Degree, one of the largest gatherings of housing professionals in the nation. Participants will be attending six symposiums covering a range of challenges faced by the affordable housing industry. Over 1,100 government officials and affordable housing leaders in attendance will also stand with Henry Cisneros, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Co-Chair, Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission at the Hilton New York in Manhattan calling on elected officials to support the affordable housing industry and the programs critical to its future.
“This is the year for affordable housing,” said Judy Calogero, CEO, New York Housing Conference. “Our cause, providing affordable homes to communities in New York has been at the forefront of civic discussions throughout the state and across the country and it was a driving factor in the most recent election. It is at our 40th Annual Awards Program where we will frame and propel advocacy on this issue into the next year. At the same time we will give thanks to the leaders that are driving innovation in the affordable housing industry and ensuring that it remains a critical component to building cities and fostering strong communities.”
“The National Housing Conference stands firm with the New York Housing Conference in providing a platform for the advocates of the affordable housing industry,” said Chris Estes, President and CEO, National Housing Conference. “We are committed to being a vital resource and a counsel to the leaders that advocate for affordable housing at the state, local and national levels. It is critical that our industry have a platform where all actors can come together, build relationships, drive innovation, and move forward with the construction and preservation of affordable homes across this country.”
During the 40th Annual Awards Program attendees will be asked to join a call-to-action in the spirit of the event’s theme, Advocacy to the 40th Degree. A sign-on letter will circulate advocating for elected officials at the state and national level to support programs critical to sustaining the affordable housing industry, including providing federal appropriations for housing programs, expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), creation of a mortgage finance system that serves the housing needs of all Americans, and to sustain and expand efforts to prevent foreclosure and restore damaged communities.
Henry Cisneros, Former Secretary, HUD and Co-Chair, Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission will be joined by Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner/CEO, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and Marc Jahr, President, New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), in leading attendees in the call-to-action.
“I am honored to stand among the leaders of the affordable housing industry in calling for sensible and critical investments in the future of America’s housing,” said Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary and Co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission. “We must preserve the existing stock and promote the creation of new homes so that future generations will have access to decent, suitable, and affordable housing.”
Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner/CEO, New York State Homes and Community Renewal said, “For forty years, the NYHC has provided indispensable guidance to the affordable-housing community. Their ‘call to action’ today has never been more important: the community needs to remain organized and united in the face of dysfunction in Washington — and continue advocating for the resources and attention that have helped make the last 40 years so successful. On behalf of Governor Cuomo, I also extend my warmest congratulations to today’s honorees, who — whether they be in government, academia, the non-profit world or the private sector — have each in their own way and together illustrated the positive results of a dedicated commitment to the cause of affordable housing development.”
“In New York City we have a proud track record of achieving ambitious results on behalf of those who need affordable housing,” said RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development. “Lately, however, our colleagues around the nation have felt under attack by our own Federal government. Congress has slashed HOME and Community Development Block Grant funding. The Federal sequester has devastated our Section 8 budget and if it continues, the stark truth is that HPD may well be forced to terminate 3,300 vouchers, putting vulnerable New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes. The demand for affordable housing is not going away. We need our Federal representatives and counterparts to be as determined and brave and loud as we can be.
Marc Jahr, President, New York City Housing Development Corporation said, “Over the 40 years that the Housing Conference has been celebrating brilliant achievers and advocates, one thing remains constant. That is: our national housing crisis persists – there are too many people living in shelters, or in overcrowded, rent-burdened situations that affect the health and the spirit of our neighbors and neighborhoods. That’s why today’s call-to-action is important and has never been timelier in the history of the National Housing Conference. The need is now and the drive to meet it is more urgent than ever.”
NYHC and NHC 40th Annual Awards Program Honors Five Industry Leaders:
Private Developer of the Year: L+M Development Partners, Inc.
Founded in 1984, L+M Development Partners, Inc. is an industry-leading real estate development firm that handles projects from conception to completion, including planning, investment, construction, and management. Founded by partners Ron Moelis, CEO and Chairman, and Sandy Loewentheil, Vice Chairman, L+M is responsible for more than $3 billion in preservation and construction of affordable housing, mixed-income, and market rate housing, totaling at more than 15,000 high-quality units in the tri-state area. L+M also takes pride in its long-standing commitment to improving the communities it serves, through its annual scholarship fund, job training programs, afterschool programs, and substantial support for local nonprofits.
Nonprofit of the Year: CAMBA / CAMBA Housing Ventures, Inc.
Founded in 1977, CAMBA connects people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life by offering integrated services in economic development, education and youth development, family support, health, housing and legal services. CAMBA has been addressing New York City’s housing crisis since 1991 by providing permanent and supportive housing, homeless prevention, housing relocation and emergency and transitional housing. In 2005, CAMBA created CAMBA Housing Ventures, Inc. (CHV) as an affiliated nonprofit affordable housing development corporation. Today, CHV is an award-winning affordable, supportive housing developer. Under the leadership of Joanne M. Oplustil, President and CEO, CAMBA and CAMBA Housing Ventures Inc. has a goal of developing over 1,000 units of affordable supportive housing. It currently employs over 1,400 staff serving the needs of 45,000 individuals and families every year.
Public Service Award: Teresa M. Bainton, Director New York Hub, US Department of Housing
and Urban Development
Teresa M. Bainton is the Director of the New York Multi Family Hub and Acting Director of the Philadelphia Hub of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Since joining HUD in 1974 as a Clerk Typist, Teresa has grown with the agency and made it her goal to not only create affordable housing opportunities, but to preserve existing housing resources. For example, Under the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, Teresa’s team created 4,000 new units for seniors amounting to $372 million in mortgages. Under Section 236 Preservation, they were able to preserve over 19,000 housing units, amounting to over $1 billion in mortgages. And, under the Federal Housing Administration’s insured mortgages programs, they were able to preserve over 23,000 units, more than $1 billion in mortgages. With restructuring changes coming to HUD, Teresa will soon be taking on a major promotion and a new set of responsibilities as the Director of the New York Hub of the Office of Multifamily Housing, which will expand her territorial responsibilities to include Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C with a regional office in New York and a satellite office in Boston.
Empire Award for Leadership in Affordable Housing: The Furman Center
New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy is the leading academic research center devoted to public policy aspects of land use, real estate development, and housing. Since 1994, affordable housing advocates of all kinds have relied on the Furman Center’s nonpartisan research and reports to drive home the value of affordable housing. Vicki L. Been, Director of the Furman Center and Ingrid Gould Ellen, Co-Director of the Furman Center, currently oversee the research center’s reports and policy recommendations. In 2010, The Furman Center partnered with Ron Moelis, Co-Founder of L+M Development Partners, to establish the Moelis Institute for Affordable Housing Policy in order to improve the effectiveness of affordable housing policies and programs by supporting key actors in the industry with research on what is and what is not working, as well as analyzing new promising ideas and innovations.
Clara Fox Award: Carol Lamberg, Executive Director, Settlement Housing Fund
The Clara Fox Award for Outstanding Achievement represents a mentor and protégé’s lives coming full circle. In 1969 Clara Fox, an icon in the affordable housing industry, founded Settlement Housing Fund, a nonprofit affordable housing developer dedicated to creating and maintaining economically and ethnically diverse affordable housing in New York City. In 1974, Clara lured Carol Lamberg – then a student working for a housing attorney and consultant – to join her as the Assistant Director at Settlement Housing Fund. For nearly a decade Carol worked under Clara’s mentorship until 1983 when she was appointed as the Executive Director of the Settlement Housing Fund. Carol is a leader in the industry and has helped guide legislation critical to affordable housing at the city, state and federal level. She regards herself as the Section 8 defense league. Under Clara and Carol’s leadership, Settlement Housing Fund has produced over 8,700 apartments across 57 developments and retains ownership of 31 buildings with 1,750 units In Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan. After over 30 years of leadership, Carol will be stepping down as the Executive Director of Settlement Housing Fund at the end of this
year.
In addition to the awards ceremony, the 40th Annual Awards Program will feature six symposiums
covering a range of challenges faced by the affordable housing industry, including:
• Housing America’s Future: New York’s Place in the National Conversation on Housing Policy
• Roadblocks, Success Stories and Solutions for Mixed-Use Development
• Withering Heights: Applying Sense and Sensibility to Affordable Housing Land Use Policies
• The Next Era in NYC Housing: What to Expect from the Next Mayoral Administration
• Protecting New York’s Affordable Housing Legacy: New Models for the Preservation of Subsidized Housing
• The (Expensive) Calm before the Next Storm: How to Deal with Rising Costs Post-Sandy
“The New York Housing Conference and National Housing Conference Annual Awards Program is the preeminent forum for the discussion and advancement of affordable housing,” said Mathew M. Wambua, Chairperson, 40th Annual Awards Event Program Committee and President, RHR Funding LLC/The Richman Group. “We are grateful to those honorees that have made the industry a cause worthy of celebration and for all those in attendance who join us in advocating for the programs that ensure affordable homes will always be a part of our future.”
Founded in 1973 by Clara Fox, an icon in the affordable housing industry, the NYHC joined NHC as its first regional affiliate in 1976. NYHC advocates for the housing needs of all New Yorkers through positive change in public policy and promotes adequate resources, workable regulations and to raise public awareness of the need for and benefits of affordable housing. The Annual Awards Program attracts more than 1,100 attendees comprised of key government officials, leaders in affordable housing, and economic development and social services, as well as private developers, architects, and engineers, financial institutions, nonprofits, trade associations, lawyers, and many others.
About New York Housing Conference
The New York Housing Conference (NYHC) is a broad-based coalition of nonprofit and private developers, owners, managers, professionals, and funders of affordable housing whose goal is decent affordable housing for all New Yorkers. The Conference advocates for their housing needs through affordable housing legislation with adequate funding and workable regulations. NYHC sponsors educational programming and promotes increased public awareness of the need for and benefit of affordable housing and helps to develop effective programs and policies to support New York’s affordable housing priorities.
About National Housing Conference
National Housing Conference (NHC) has been dedicated to helping ensure safe, decent, and affordable housing for all in America since 1931. NHC has earned its strong reputation as the United Voice for Housing by actively engaging and convening its membership in nonpartisan advocacy for effective housing policy solutions at the local, state, and national levels. NHC’s research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, develops solutions through research.