WASHINGTON, D.C. –- (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) this morning sent the following letter to President Trump requesting that he remove his completely unqualified appointment to oversee federal housing programs in New York and New Jersey, Lynne Patton. The text of the letter is below and a copy of the correspondence can be found here.
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
President Trump:
I write to ask that you immediately remove Lynne Patton from the position you have reportedly appointed her to within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
According to the New York Daily News article entitled “President Trump chooses inexperienced woman who planned his son Eric’s wedding to run N.Y. federal housing programs”, written by Greg B. Smith, you have “appointed longtime loyalist Lynne Patton – who has zero housing experience and claims a law degree the school says she never earned – to run the office that oversees federal housing programs in New York.”
Frankly, serving as your family’s event planner and as an employee of the Eric Trump Foundation, which is currently under investigation by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for criminal activities, does not qualify an individual to serve as “head of the biggest HUD regional office in the U.S. [which] oversees distribution of billions in cash to public housing authorities – including NYCHA – as well as tens of thousands of rental vouchers and block grants that fund housing inspections and senior citizen programs.” Nearly 70 percent of New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) operational budget and 100 percent of its capital repair budget comes from HUD, and its aging buildings need an estimated $17 billion in upgrades. I ask that you appoint an individual who is qualified to oversee such a serious task.
This is not The Apprentice; the federal government is not your personal patronage system. On behalf of every New Yorker who relies on NYCHA to survive, I ask you to start acting as such.
Sincerely,
Grace Meng
Member of Congress
