Registration Questions

Call: 202-684-2034
Email: eventregistration@bisnow.com

Request Speaker Information

Speaker Topics

Tell us a Little More

Speakers and Panels

Aaron Koffman

Aaron Koffman

President

Hudson Companies

Charles Bendit

Charles Bendit

Co-CEO

Taconic Investment Partners

Donald Capoccia

Donald Capoccia

Principal

BFC Partners

Spencer Orkus

Spencer Orkus

Partner, President, Development

L+M Development Partners

Juan Barahona

Juan Barahona

Principal

SMJ Development/BFC Partners

Aaron Koffman

President

Hudson Companies

Aaron Koffman leads Hudson's affordable housing pipeline and portfolio. Aaron relishes the challenge of putting Hudson's best feet forward on public and private competitions for development sites and building lasting partnerships with public, private and non-profit organizations. Aaron is continually inspired by his Hudson colleagues and loves working to bring transformative mixed-use developments like La Central, The Peninsula, BEC II and Greenpoint Hospital to reality. Aaron is a New York State Volunteer Firefighter who earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UC Berkeley and his Master of City Planning from MIT. Aaron also serves on the NYC Waterfront Management Advisory Board as well as the Board of the NYU Furman Center, Coro New York, and the Center for Urban Pedagogy. He remains a diehard Los Angeles Lakers and Angels fan.

Charles Bendit

Co-CEO

Taconic Investment Partners

Prior to founding Taconic with Paul Pariser in 1997, Charlie formed CBC Properties, where he acquired, repositioned, and managed more than one million square feet of office properties in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as several hundred apartment units in the New York metropolitan area. Earlier in his career, he was a managing director at Jones Lang Wootton (JLW), where he was responsible for property acquisitions, sales, and financing for the firm’s international clientele, with a focus on New York, Washington, D.C., and Toronto. In these latter two cities he established JLW’s regional offices and business platforms.

A graduate of George Washington University, Charlie is actively involved in the educational community serving as a Regent of the New York State Board of Education, a board member of PENCIL, and a participant in PENCIL’s annual Principal for a Day program. In addition, Charlie is a member of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Executive Committee of the Board of Advisors of the George Washington University School of Business, and the Advisory Board of the University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis.

Donald Capoccia

Principal

BFC Partners

Donald Capoccia is an urban developer in the fullest sense, combining his career of building in New York City with civic activities devoted to public arts and architecture initiatives. As the managing principal of BFC Partners, Capoccia spearheads the firm’s focus on constructing affordable housing in emerging neighborhoods. Under his guidance, BFC Partners was the first developer in New York City to mix low and middle-income restricted apartments with market-rate rentals. To further encourage this building trend, Capoccia was a founding member in 1998 of the New York State Affordable Housing Association. Today, his association works to increase affordable housing programs and subsidies.

Spencer Orkus

Partner, President, Development

L+M Development Partners

Spencer Orkus is a Partner and the President of Development at L+M Development Partners who has been with the company since 2007. He has developed over 5,000 affordable new construction units within various mixed-use new construction projects compiling over $2.5 billion in financing resources.

Spencer leads L+M’s efforts to provide housing that is healthy, energy-efficient, and resilient to climate change. He is passionate about the intersection of housing, healthcare and food access, partnering with various healthcare providers, food-oriented social justice enterprises and other non-profits. He has led L+M’s venture into the new era of sustainable construction, having completed our first passive house project with geothermal heating/cooling and NYC’s first net-zero community in the pipeline.

Prior to joining L+M, Spencer worked as a licensed structural engineer for DeSimone Consulting Engineers designing high-rise residential buildings and other structures. He has a BA and MA in Architectural Engineering from Penn State University and an MA in Real Estate from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. He is co-chair of the NYSAFAH policy committee, a board member of New York Passive House and serves on the Hastings on Hudson waterfront zoning committee.

Financing Affordable: Trends, Challenges, and More!

David Schwartz

David Schwartz

Principal

Slate Property Group

Victor Sozio

Victor Sozio

Founding Partner

Ariel Property Advisors

John Gilmore

John Gilmore

Vice President

KeyBank Real Estate Capital

Daniel Bernstein

Daniel Bernstein

Member

Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

Nicholas Kamillatos
Moderator

Nicholas Kamillatos

Partner

Rosenberg & Estis

John Gilmore

Vice President

KeyBank Real Estate Capital

John is a Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager within KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s Community Development

Lending and Investment Group. He is a member of the Group’s management team tasked with expanding the Bank’s

affordable housing platform from 12 to 50 states. Based in Manhattan, John focuses on establishing and expanding

relationships with real estate investors and owners of affordable housing based in the eastern US. Throughout his tenure

at the Bank John has served in many functions including working in the Bank’s Income Property Group, Asset Recovery

Group, and Private Equity Group.

Over his career, he has closed over $1.5 billion in multifamily housing loans throughout the nation. John has expertise in a

wide variety of asset types, including Affordable Housing, Market Rate Apartments, Manufactured Housing, Student

Housing, and Seniors Housing. Additionally, he is highly experienced in complex deal structures including

acquisition/rehabs, tax exempt bonds, low income housing tax credits, new construction, and permanent financing options

through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD.

John is a 2006 graduate of Morehouse College by way of Houston, Texas. While at Morehouse he graduate Cum Laude

with a Bachelors Degree in Finance and a minor in Economics. John currently serves as a Board Member of Bridge

Street Development Corporation and serves on the Steering committee of the New York Chapter of the Real Estate

Associates Program.

Daniel Bernstein

Member

Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

Daniel M. Bernstein joined Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. in 2017 and is a Member and Leader of the firm’s Tax Incentives & Affordable Housing Department. Bernstein’s practice involves affordable housing and urban development issues in New York, obtaining property tax exemptions and abatements (485-x / ANNY for new development; 467-m / AHCC for commercial conversions; new and old 421-a including requests for extension of 421-a(16) Completion Date, ICAP/ICIP, 420-c, 420-a, J-51, Article XI, etc.), development rights bonuses and incentives / zoning requirements (Voluntary and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, FRESH program, Zoning for Quality and Affordability) for New York City projects. Bernstein is experienced in the assessment and taxation of real property in New York, as well as acquisition, financing, leasing, Declarations of Condominium, and condominium offering plans. Bernstein also has extensive experience helping real estate developers obtain economic incentives for their residential, commercial, or mixed-use projects. Bernstein also performs diligence on such matters for lenders and purchasers of such NYC properties.

Prior to joining Rosenberg & Estis, Bernstein spent over a decade at two New York City real estate law firms representing some of the city’s major residential, commercial, and mixed-use real estate developers. Bernstein began his career working on immigration, healthcare, and public benefit issues at a major New York labor union and for New York not-for-profit organizations, where he handled litigation in U.S. District and Circuit Courts.

Nicholas Kamillatos

Moderator

Rosenberg & Estis

Nicholas Kamillatos joined Rosenberg & Estis in 1982, and became a member in June, 1989. For three decades, he has represented property owners and lenders in numerous litigations and development projects involving virtually every administrative and regulatory agency that has jurisdiction over real estate in New York City. Those agencies include the New York State DHCR and Office of Attorney General, the New York City HPD, ECB, and HDC, and federal matters at HUD.

As a member of the firm's Administrative Group, Nick Kamillatos has advised property owners on how to best deal with overlapping regulations relating to the ownership, financing and redevelopment of residential properties. He developed a due diligence system which allows buyers and lending institutions to confirm the validity and enforceability of apartment building rent rolls using the State's rent registration database. Mr. Kamillatos also assists Mitchell‑Lama property owners to establish the highest possible rent levels after the properties leave the Mitchell-Lama system. He won a groundbreaking appeal to the State's highest court establishing property owners' right to apply for substantial rent increases after Mitchell-Lama regulation ends, KSLM-Columbus Apartment, Inc. v. DHCR, 2005. Additionally, Mr. Kamillatos has represented high profile not-for-profit institutions in redeveloping their institutional real estate for non-profit purposes, including the world renowned Carnegie Hall Corp.

Mr. Kamillatos has lectured as a recognized administrative law expert at the Real Estate Board of New York, the Community Housing Improvement Program, Inc., and at bar association seminars convened by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York County Lawyers' Association.

The State NYC's Affordable Housing

Adam Weinstein

Adam Weinstein

President & CEO

Phipps Houses

Jonathan Rose

Jonathan Rose

President

Jonathan Rose Companies

Robert LiMandri

Robert LiMandri

Senior Principal

Vidaris

Claire Haaga Altman

Claire Haaga Altman

Executive Vice President

Capalino+Company

Adam Weinstein

President & CEO

Phipps Houses

Mr. Adam Weinstein is President and CEO of Phipps Houses, its 60+ affordable housing subsidiaries and affiliates, and Chairman of Phipps Neighborhoods, its social service sister organization. He joined Phipps Houses in 1989 as Assistant to the President, becoming a Vice President in 1992, Chief Operating Officer in 1994, and its President and CEO in 2001. Phipps Houses is the nation’s oldest and one of its largest not-for-profit enterprises committed to creating opportunity by developing, acquiring, operating and managing affordable housing. As of June 2015, it has developed or preserved more than 8,500 affordable apartments in New York City, has another 1,300+ apartments currently in construction, plus a growing pipeline of new developments totaling nearly 4,000 apartments. Phipps Neighborhoods offers more than 30 different education and career programs, and access to community resources to help 11,000 New Yorkers annually build better lives for themselves, their families and their community, principally in neighborhoods where Phipps has a substantial housing impact.

Mr. Weinstein lives with his family in the Bronx and is a board member of a number of affordable housing advocacy and research organizations. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Yale University.

Jonathan Rose

President

Jonathan Rose Companies

Jonathan F.P. Rose’s business, public policy and not-for-profit work all focus on creating more environmentally, socially and economically resilient cities. In 1989, Mr. Rose founded Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a multi-disciplinary real estate development, planning, and investment firm, which creates real estate and planning models to address the challenges of the 21st century. Jonathan has lead the firm’s vision, program and growth, developing award winning new projects, investment funds and city plans to model solutions to the issues of housing, economic development and the environment.

The company’s mission is to develop communities that enhance opportunity for all. The firm’s work touches many aspects of community health; working with cities and not-for-profits to build affordable and mixed-income housing, cultural, health and educational infrastructure, and advocates for neighborhoods to be enriched with parks and open space, mass transit, jobs and healthy food.

The firm’s innovative development, planning, investment, and owners representation work has won awards from a wide range of notable organizations including: the Urban Land Institute, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Rose frequently lectures on affordable housing, community development, smart growth and the environment.

Mr. Rose’s book on how to create resilient cities, The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Behavior Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life, was published by Harper Wave in 2016, and won the 2017 PROSE Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work by a Trade Publisher.

Mr. Rose frequently lectures at graduate schools of business, environment and architecture. In 2015, he held the Yale School of Architecture’s Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Architectural Fellowship.

Mr. Rose has testified before U.S. Senate and House Committees on housing, infrastructure and environmental issues, and served as an Advisor to the White House Office of Urban Affairs.

Mr. Rose is a Trustee of Enterprise Community Partners and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects and Honorary Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Mr. Rose chaired the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Blue Ribbon Sustainability Commission, which developed the nation’s first green transit plan, and was a commissioner on Governor Cuomo’s NYS 2100 Commission, tasked with identifying strategies for the long-term resilience of New York State’s infrastructure post-Hurricane Sandy.

Mr. Rose and his wife Diana Calthorpe Rose are the co-founders of the Garrison Institute and serve on its Board. The Institute connects inner transformation with outer solutions to relieve suffering in the fields of trauma, education and the environment.

Mr. Rose graduated from Yale University in 1974 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy, and received a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.

Robert LiMandri

Senior Principal

Vidaris

Mr. LiMandri joined Vidaris in 2014, bringing with him strategic leadership experience and innovation. Currently Mr. LiMandri oversees operations and the company’s Code Advisory division. The newly formed group can deliver comprehensive solutions based on a deep understanding of building code and NYC zoning. He also explores strategic service offerings that can bridge current gaps within the complex real estate and construction market in New York City and other metropolitan markets around the country. Mr. LiMandri also serves as a member of the Management Committee.

Before joining Vidaris, Mr. LiMandri served as New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner. He is an operational executive with a history of leadership in commercial real estate, construction, development standards, and oversight—with a tenure punctuated by widespread changes in building safety standards, technology initiatives, green building innovation, and code updates. Drawing on his background in fiscal oversight and P&L management, he has managed budgets exceeding $200M, in addition to a team of 1,100 attorneys, engineers, inspectors, and architects.

His leadership impact can be felt throughout the city’s real estate industry with enhanced safety awareness, stringent mandates for construction, and quality and advances in sustainability. In addition, his innovative approach to technology utilization has saved his customers millions in staff time, while boosting customer satisfaction with the launch of cutting-edge online collaboration tools such as the paperless virtual approval of plans at the HUB, 3D site safety review, and a smart phone app.

Mr. LiMandri has also held positions at Realfoundations as a management consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle managing Class A office, Columbia University, and Honeywell Corporation.

Claire Haaga Altman

Executive Vice President

Capalino+Company

Claire is an accomplished leader and innovator in affordable housing and the health and human

services sector. She has over 30+ years of diversified experience developing affordable and

supportive housing, and creating and implementing advances in community development, health,

human services and employment for underserved populations.

As Executive Vice President for Housing and Community Development at Capalino+Company,

Claire Altman assists clients in strategizing and implementing approaches to develop, finance,

and build community support for affordable, mixed income and supportive housing.

Claire began her career at the Vera Institute of Justice where her early innovations included

EASYRIDE, the precursor to Access-A-Ride, the first paratransit service in New York City for

elderly and disabled persons, and Neighborhood Work Project, a day labor program employing

ex-offenders.

Claire founded Housing & Services, Inc. (HSI), a not for profit organization that helps address

homelessness in NYC through the development and management of permanent supportive

housing. During her 19 years as President of HSI, Claire pioneered the development of $350

million of affordable and supportive housing.

Claire has spent the last 15 years leading not-for-profit organizations in the aging, housing,

human service and health fields. Most recently, she served as COO of HealthCare Chaplaincy

and as CEO of Volunteers of America GNY, where she had oversight of housing for 2500

individuals with behavioral health issues, homeless individuals and families, veterans and the

elderly.

Claire earned her J.D. from Fordham University, an M.P.A. in Urban Planning from the NYU

Wagner School, and her B.A. from St. Louis University.

Developing Affordable Housing in the Current Climate

Bryan Kelly

Bryan Kelly

President, Development

Gotham

Karen Hu

Karen Hu

Principal, Head of Development

Camber Property Group

Eli Weiss

Eli Weiss

Principal

Joy Construction

Isaac Henderson

Isaac Henderson

Development Director

L+M Development Partners

Benjamin Tapper
Moderator

Benjamin Tapper

Senior Director

Eastern Consolidated

Bryan Kelly

President, Development

Gotham

Bryan Kelly joined Gotham in 2016 as Executive Vice President, Development, where he leads the Gotham Development division, including oversight of the acquisition process, entitlements and approvals, design, deal structuring, capital raising, marketing strategy and stabilization and refinancing.

Prior to Gotham, Bryan successfully led numerous development projects for Fisher Brothers, a private firm focused on investment, asset management and development for its real estate portfolio. As Project Executive, he oversaw more than $400,000,000 of development, including the condo conversion of 101 West 87th Street and the design and development of 225 East 39th Street, projects spanning luxury market rate homes, 80/20 affordability, amenities and retail spaces.

Bryan began his career as an Originations Manager at First Sterling Financial, a privately held firm specializing in tax credit syndications, focusing on the origination, structuring and underwriting of tax credit investments to create or preserve affordable housing, followed by time as a Senior Project Manager with Atlantic Development Group, a leading NYC developer of affordable and mixed‐income housing. During his tenure with Atlantic, he oversaw the planning or financing of more than 1,000 new affordable homes for New Yorkers.

Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, College at Rose Hill and pursued Graduate Studies in Economics at the Fordham University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Bryan was a five‐year scholarship athlete and member of the Fordham University Baseball Team. He is also currently a member of the Advisory Board for the New York Housing Conference.

Karen Hu

Principal, Head of Development

Camber Property Group

Karen Hu leads a team of deeply experienced professionals on the whole range of affordable development deals—from ground up new construction to preservation of NYCHA projects.

Karen has successfully completed multiple high-profile projects throughout her decades long career. She got her start in real estate at HPD, as a City Planner in the Bronx Planning Unit. She then worked at Phipps Houses as a development project manager on new construction multi-family deals in the South Bronx and Harlem. While she was at The Hudson Companies, she was the project lead on One Clinton, the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Heights Library into a luxury condominium project with the largest branch in the Brooklyn Public Library system. Karen holds a B.A. in Art History from Williams College and M.S. in Real Estate Development and City Planning from M.I.T.

Isaac Henderson

Development Director

L+M Development Partners

Mr. Henderson is a Develpopment Dirctor at L+M Development Partners.

Mr. Henderson has over 15 years of development experience and has been

involved in the development of over 2,000 units of mixed-income housing.

Mr. Henderson has extensive experience working with federal, state, and

city affordable housing programs including Low-Income and New Market Tax

Credits, Tax Exempt Bonds, and public subsidies.

Currently, Mr. Henderson is managing the Essex Crossing Project a nine-site,

2 million square foot development in New York’s Lower East side that will

include over 1,000 units of mixed-income housing, retail, office, and

community facility space. The project is expected to be built over 10 years.

Prior to joining L&M in 2012, Isaac spent six years as a project manager at CPC Resources in New York.

Before CPCR, Isaac worked for six years at BRIDGE Housing Corporation as a project manager developing

affordable housing.

Isaac has a Master Degree in Urban Planning from the Department of City and Regional Planning at the

University of North Carolina. Isaac received a B.A. from Grinnell College with a major in Economics.

Benjamin Tapper

Moderator

Eastern Consolidated

Mr. Tapper joined Eastern Consolidated in 2004 and was welcomed into Eastern’s principal group in

2015. Over his career he has negotiated over $800 million in real estate transactions in every asset

class from multifamily and mixed use buildings, to development sites, and single-tenant net leased

retail and medical office.

Mr. Tapper is a widely known and respected broker in the Brooklyn marketplace, with sales of almost

1,000,000 sq. ft. of property. Among his most recent notable transactions is the $90 million sale

of 37 Flatbush Avenue, a 230,000 sq. ft. property in the heart of downtown Brooklyn, and the 18

building portfolio of mixed use buildings. Mr. Tapper exclusively represented the Lee Estate, achieving

benchmark pricing of $107 million.

Mr. Tapper works with the complete range of investors; from the institutional and Non-Profit, to publicly

traded and private family investors. He was selected to exclusively represent the Ackerman Institute

for the Family, and led his team to achieve record pricing on this development site. His team also

identified and negotiated the acquisition of Ackerman’s new location with more space in Madison

Square Park, all while helping them significantly increase their endowment in the arbitrage.

Mr. Tapper is a graduate of Cornell University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Near Eastern

Studies. He is an active member of the Cornell University Real Estate Council and The Real Estate

Board of NY. Mr. Tapper has served as treasurer of Co-op Boards in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is

active philanthropically in The ALS Association. He currently resides in Westchester County.

Summary

With Gov. Cuomo bringing back 421-a (in the form of 'Affordable New York') hear from industry experts on what to expect over the next year! After exploring the complexities of the new program, we'll tackle different financing strategies employed in the Affordable Housing spaces. Finally, our executive outlook panel will talk about their respective development & investment strategies, and influential projects on the rise!

Share your comments, post your photos and ask questions using #BisnowNY on Twitter and Instagram, and follow us at @BisnowNY on Twitter for more local news.

Venue

Signature Theater
480 W 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036

Ballroom: Main Lobby & Linney Theater




Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
1:15 PM
Financing: Trends, Challenges, and More!
1:15 PM
2:00 PM
Community Development: NYC's Affordable Housing Scene
2:00 PM
2:45 PM
Developing Affordable Housing
2:45 PM
3:15 PM
Post Game Networking