Workforce & Mixed-Income Housing: Complementing Subsidized Housing

Balancing the Mix Between Capital A and Lowercase A Affordable Housing

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  David Kramer

  President

  Hudson Companies

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  James Eisenberg

  President

  Urban American

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  Jesse Batus

  SVP, Development

  The Community Builders

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  Jonathan Beuttler

  Jonathan Beuttler is the Senior Vice President of Development at Radson Development and has been with the company since 2019. Mr. Beuttler leads, oversees, and manages all of the company’s affordable housing developments, from initial RFP applications or acquisition through construction and stabilization. Prior to joining Radson, Mr. Beuttler served as the Director of Development at RiseBoro Community Partnership where he lead the acquisition of 9 sites totaling 2,828 units to be developed as mixed use, affordable housing. 6 of these sites were awarded through Requests For Proposals. Mr. Beuttler previously work for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the City of New York as the Director of Mixed-Income Programs, where he designed affordable housing programs adopted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2014 Housing New York Plan. Under his leadership, the programs created over 4,000 affordable rental units each year through annual loan originations of over $604 million. Mr. Beuttler has an MS in Urban Policy from The New School, an MA in Geography from Clark University, is a member of the New York Housing Conference Young Leadership Council, and is a returned United States Peace Corps volunteer.

  Radson Development

  SVP of Development

  Jonathan Beuttler

  SVP of Development

  Radson Development

• Moderator

  Danielle Ash

  Partner

  Adler & Stachenfeld

New York City Affordable Housing Solutions: Policy Changes & Preservation

Opportunities to Improve Policy & Prioritizing NYC's Housing Communities

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  Ahmed Tigani

  Commissioner

  Department of Buildings

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  Eleonora Bershadskaya

  Prior to joining Vistria, Eleonora was an Associate Director on the Acquisitions & Development team at TF Cornerstone, a privately owned, vertically integrated developer in New York City, focused largely on multifamily projects. Before TF Cornerstone, Eleonora was the Deputy Chief of Staff to New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. In that capacity, Eleonora led high-priority land use and public-private real estate projects, while overseeing multiple public corporations. Eleonora began her career at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the Urban Investment Group and executed double-bottom-line investments (debt, equity and tax credit equity) in real estate projects that generate financial returns and positive social outcomes. Eleonora graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude. She earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

  Vistria Group

  Principal

  Eleonora Bershadskaya

  Principal

  Vistria Group

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  Eunice Suh

  Eunice Suh is Vice President of Planning and Development at Monadnock Development. She joined the company in 2021 and has developed over 1,500 affordable units with various mixed-use, new construction projects compiling over $950 million in financing resources, including a women’s shelter in midtown Manhattan. Prior to joining Monadnock, Eunice served as the Executive Director of the Harvard Business School Club of New York for two years. Eunice also spent over a decade at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development in various roles, including Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Predevelopment. At HPD, she oversaw the agency’s Request for Proposals pipeline to develop affordable housing on city-owned sites, along with the borough planning, sustainability, and resiliency teams. From two-family homes to large-scale developments, her work has expanded affordable housing opportunities in neighborhoods all throughout the city. Eunice received her Master’s Degree in City Planning and B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves on the board of Women in Housing and Finance.

  Monadnock Development

  VP, Planning and Development

  Eunice Suh

  VP, Planning and Development

  Monadnock Development

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  Susan Connelly

  Susan Connelly joined Housing Opportunities Unlimited in May 2020 as Chief Operating Officer and Principal. Working as part of HOU's executive team, HOU is growing nationally with an emphasis on New York City. Now, with 100 employees, HOU continues its 40-year commitment to diversity. Over 80% of HOU's 100-person team are BIPOC. Susan has over 35 years of experience in affordable and public housing. In her roles with private developers, Susan oversaw the permitting, design, finance, and construction of over 4,200 units of new and rehabilitated affordable housing in the greater Boston and Mid-Atlantic markets. She has worked with the multiple regulatory requirements of private, federal, and state finance resources, including HOPE VI, LIHTC, Historic Tax Credits, HOME, and Section 8. Before joining HOU, Susan was the Director of Community Assistance at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), a quasi-public agency. For 16 years, Susan led and supported a team effort to seed affordable housing across the Commonwealth. She worked closely with the state's Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) on several policy issues, including the effort to create a public finance product to leverage private capital to replace state public housing. Susan has supported community input processes as a representative of the state, as a developer, and as an affordable housing manager. She was first introduced to affordable housing in Boston in 1986 as a member of the HOU relocation team at Columbia Point, the first federal public housing development converted to mixed-income, mixed-finance, and privately managed. Today, Harbor Point is a 1,200-unit community, and HOU continues to provide resident services. Susan holds a degree in Economics from the University of Vermont. She is the Treasurer of the Board of Commissioners for the Cambridge Housing Authority, co-chair of the Real Estate Advisory Committee, the Urban Land Institute/Boston, and a founding member of the Women’s Development Collaborative based in San Francisco.

  Housing Opportunities Unlimited

  Principal

  Susan Connelly

  Principal

  Housing Opportunities Unlimited

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  Brett Gottlieb

  Brett J. Gottlieb is partner in Herrick's Real Estate Department where he represents real estate owners, lessees and developers in the application process for New York City’s real property tax incentives including 421-a, ICIP/ICAP and FRESH. Brett counsels clients regarding their property tax benefit applications with respect to project eligibility, benefit calculation, benefit planning and implementation of the exemption or abatement of real property tax in the City of New York. For the Industrial Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP), Brett counsels owners, developers, architects and contractors on the ICAP Rules and Law pertaining to applications submitted to the New York City Department of Finance. Additionally, he advises on the Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority/Women Business Owned Enterprise (M/WBE) requirements included within Executive Order 50 of 1980, Executive Order 94 of 1986, Local Law 67 of 2008 and Local Law 102 of 2018 as they pertain to ICAP project before the Department of Small Business Services, Division of Labor Services. Brett's experience with the 421-a Partial Tax Exemption Program and its successor Affordable New York (421-a(16)) includes counseling clients on project eligibility, rent stabilization, dwelling unit stacking, affordable unit proportionality, building measurement, benefit planning and calculation. Brett assists owners and managing agents with the submission of initial and annual rent registrations to the Division of Homes & Community Renewal (DHCR). For the FRESH Program, he counsels clients on the tax incentive benefit, core application submission, benefit calculations and various program requirements and restrictions. Brett also prepares attorney opinion letters including tax projections for ICAP, 421-a and FRESH. He also counsels lenders and purchasers as part of the due diligence and underwriting and underwriting requirements. He counsels both landlords and tenants with regards to property tax incentive clauses in leases. Before joining Herrick, Brett was a partner at Tuchman, Weiss, Liebman & Lindemann, LLP.

  Herrick Feinstein

  Partner

  Moderator

  Brett Gottlieb

  Partner

  Herrick Feinstein

Creative Financing Strategies: LIHTC, Bond Financing & Other Funding Vehicles

Investment, Tax Credits, Funding, Financing & Incentives

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  Kimberly Darga

  Deputy Commissioner for Development

  NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

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  Jessica Yoon

  Managing Director

  L+M Development Partners

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  Liz Oakley

  Executive Vice President, Affordable Development

  Douglaston Development

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  P.J. McDevitt

  Based in New Jersey, P.J. McDevitt serves as Managing Director within Walker & Dunlop’s multifamily finance group. Mr. McDevitt is focused on the affordable housing space and is responsible for originating debt for multifamily properties on behalf of clients nationwide. Since 2018, Mr. McDevitt has been involved in the origination, underwriting, and closing of nearly $1 billion in affordable housing transactions and has extensive experience in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, and FHA financing solutions. Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop as a Managing Director, Mr. McDevitt served as a Director at Greystone, where he was responsible for the origination of affordable multifamily housing loans for five years. He previously worked for PNC, where he contributed his expertise as a Production Management Representative and Production Assistant, and he gained some of his first experience in commercial real estate at Walker & Dunlop as a Senior Analyst before that. Mr. McDevitt earned his bachelor’s degree from Willamette University and his master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

  Walker & Dunlop

  Managing Director, Multifamily Finance

  P.J. McDevitt

  Managing Director, Multifamily Finance

  Walker & Dunlop

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  Tim Cantwell

  Tim Cantwell is the Founder and CEO of Tailorbird, a property intelligence platform used across more than 230,000 units and trusted by leading institutional multifamily, affordable, and military housing owners. Prior to founding Tailorbird, Tim spent over a decade at GE, where he worked in corporate innovation and led M&A initiatives globally. He began his career as a licensed general contractor and holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an Executive MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

  Tailorbird

  CEO

  Tim Cantwell

  CEO

  Tailorbird

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  Russell Kivler

  Russell A. Kivler is a partner in the law firm of Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP. He joined the firm in 2004 and became a partner in 2010. Mr. Kivler practices in the area of real estate, representing developers, owners and equity investors in connection with acquisitions and dispositions, financings, joint ventures, development and construction and commercial leasing. He has developed extensive experience in commercial and public finance, federal, state and local housing programs and tax incentives. Mr. Kivler regularly represents clients in large scale affordable housing and mixed use development projects that are financed with municipal bonds and tax credit equity. Mr. Kivler is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey and received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in economics and business management, with a concentration in finance, in 1999 from Gettysburg College and his law degree magna cum laude in 2002 from American University, Washington College of Law.

  Hirschen Singer & Epstein

  Partner

  Moderator

  Russell Kivler

  Partner

  Hirschen Singer & Epstein

How to Leverage State & City Developer Incentives (City of Yes, 485x) to Increase Affordable Housing

Utilizing Recent Policies to Increase Development Pipelines

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  Sen. Brian Kavanagh

  Brian Kavanagh has been serving in New York State legislature for the past 13 years, with his first 11 years spent as an Assemblymember representing portions of Manhattan’s East Side, and the past two years as a Senator representing over 300,000 residents of the 26th Senate District in Lower Manhattan and the western part of Brooklyn. During his time in the legislature, Brian has focused on legislation and policy changes to support affordable housing, prevent gun violence, protect the environment, promote economic and social justice, and create a fairer and more open political process. As the Chair of the Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee, Brian is a staunch advocate for safe and affordable housing, stronger rent laws that protect tenants, and public housing, among many more housing issues. Brian is also the founder and chair of American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention (ASLGVP), a national organization of state legislators working on gun violence prevention legislation in their states, as well as the founder and co-chair of New York Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention. Brian is admitted to practice law.

  New York State Senate

  Chair, Housing,Construction & Community Dev.Committee

  Sen. Brian Kavanagh

  Chair, Housing,Construction & Community Dev.Committee

  New York State Senate

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  Derek Marcus

  Derek Marcus serves as VP of Acquisitions and Development at TF Cornerstone. Since joining the firm in 2008, Derek has overseen the acquisition, planning and development of approximately 3,000 rental apartments with another 1,300 apartments in the development pipeline. Many of Derek’s projects are public-private partnerships that leverage development incentives including zoning bonuses, real estate tax exemptions, tax exempt bond financing and Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Notable projects include 606 West 57th Street (1,028 units), Hunter’s Point South Parcel C (1,193 units) and 2-20 & 2-21 Malt Drive (1,387 units). Derek began his career at The Richman Group, a national affordable housing developer and investor. He is an active participant on REBNY’s Housing Committee and lives in New York City.

  TF Cornerstone

  VP, Acquisitions & Development

  Derek Marcus

  VP, Acquisitions & Development

  TF Cornerstone

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  AJ Pires

  President

  Alloy Development

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  Brian Loughlin

  Principal

  Magnusson Architecture and Planning

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  Christine O’Connell

  As Senior Director of Capital Investments & Housing, Christine Retzlaff O’Connell leads Local Initiative Support Corporation (“LISC”) New York’s capital investment strategy and market expansion statewide by developing and executing a program of strategic housing, community, and economic development investments to advance the objectives of LISC NY’s platform. In partnership with her team, she structures, negotiates, and originates a robust pipeline of transactions that facilitate the deployment of LISC capital and technical assistance resources. She also leads technical assistance initiatives and housing programs focused on building capacity and project access to ensure developers become more competitive as the state's affordable housing project pipeline grows and more market opportunities arise. Christine has over 10 years of experience in housing finance, community development, and public affairs. Prior to joining LISC, Christine held multiple roles in the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) including Director and Deputy Director of the Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program and Project Manager for the Participation Loan Program. In these roles, Christine led teams in underwriting and developing financing strategies and led efforts to establish a homeownership, shared equity, and Community Land Trust agenda for the agency. Additionally, she led various partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders including NY City Council, community boards, the Mayor’s office and community advocacy groups focused on affordable housing. Prior to working at HPD, Christine worked for the New York City Housing Authority in the Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Applied Social Relations from Eastern Connecticut State University and a Master of Science in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from The New School.

  LISC

  Senior Director, Capital Investments & Housing

  Christine O’Connell

  Senior Director, Capital Investments & Housing

  LISC

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  Daniel Bernstein

  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.

  Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

  Member

  Moderator

  Daniel Bernstein

  Member

  Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.