May 30, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — HCR Commissioner Darryl C. Towns delivered welcoming remarks at NYSAFAH’s 13th Annual Affordable Housing Conference in New York City on May 17th. The theme of the conference was “We Build New York” and Commissioner/CEO Towns focused his remarks on the successes of the past year, pointing out that under Governor Cuomo’s leadership HCR nearly doubled the state investment in affordable housing.
“Based on the strength of our partnership with affordable housing developers from across the state, our challenges have become successes,” Commissioner/CEO Towns said. “That’s a tribute to the great work NYSAFAH does and its extraordinary advocacy. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, we essentially doubled the state investment in affordable housing and doubled the output-completing two rounds of funding in one year.”
HCR staff participated in workshops throughout the day including:
- Marian Zucker – Advanced Topics in Tax-Exempt Bonds (May 16, Pre-Conference Education Forum)
- Michael Skrebutenas – Serving Challenging Populations with Supportive Housing
- Sean Fitzgerald – Identifying Cost Containment Practices in Tax Credit Properties
- Gloria Boyd – Bond Financing and Other Debt Solutions
- Leonard Gruenfeld – Preserving Distressed and Stressed Subsidized Properties
- Richard Brown – Successful Models for Mixed-Income Housing Outside New York City
- Michael DeBonis – Practical Approaches to Integrating City, State, and National Green and Energy Standards
- Lenny Skrill – Allocators Roundtable
- Al Smith – Preserving Section 8 Housing
The conference included a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) speed-networking session. The Commissioner thanked NYSFAH for its efforts to increase participation of MWBEs with membership and contracting opportunities. Wanda Graham HCR’s Director of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and a member of NYSAFAH’s MWBE advisory committee participated in the event which drew more than 150 MWBE firms. Commissioner Towns noted that the event will prove enormously useful in assisting HCR to reach the Governor’s mandated goal of twenty-percent participation of MWBEs on state contracts.
