Join us on Wednesday, March 30th for a discussion on New York City housing policy with two experts from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). We will discuss the work HPD does to make the city more equitable and affordable, the development of housing policy under the new mayoral administration, and the intricacies of city planning.
Moderated by Dr. Basil A. Smikle Jr, Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Program, the program will feature Lucy Joffe, Assistant Commissioner for Housing Policy, Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Chantella Mitchell, Executive Director of Homeownership Initiatives in the Office of Development, Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
The event will be Wednesday, March 30th from 1-2pm Roosevelt House, 2nd Floor Classroom (RH 204).
RSVP here or email Bianca Oliva (bo47@hunter.cuny.edu)
Speaker Bios:
Lucy Joffe is the Assistant Commissioner for Housing Policy at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”). In this role, she oversees HPD’s Policy Development & Special Initiatives, Fair Housing Policy & Investments team and the Research & Evaluation team.
Lucy previously worked as the Executive Director of Regulatory Compliance at HPD, an attorney-advisor in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and as a legislative aide to New York City Council Member Dan Garodnick. She also taught elementary and middle school English as a Second Language at P.S./I.S. 50 in East Harlem as a Teach for America corps member and worked in several Detroit public schools as an AmeriCorps member. Lucy earned a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, an M.S. for Teachers from Pace University and a B.A. in sociology with a political science minor from the University of Michigan.
Chantella Mitchell is the Executive Director of Homeownership Initiatives in the Office of Development at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). In this role, Chantella manages the team that administers HPD’s preservation loan programs for 1- to 4-family homeowners, as well as HPD’s emerging development work around Community Land Trusts and zombie home acquisition strategies. Prior to her current role, Chantella’s positions in New York City service included working as a Director of Operations in the HPD Office of Development and as a Senior Analyst at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before joining the City, Chantella worked at several nonprofit policy and philanthropic organizations focused on economic opportunity. Chantella holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Science from Columbia University and she lives in Brooklyn with her dog, Honeybun.
Dr. Basil A. Smikle Jr. is Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the Public Policy Program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. He was appointed by former Governor David Paterson to serve as the Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party during the 2016 presidential cycle where he was the “second highest ranking Democrat” in the State. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Education and an MPA from Columbia University and received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.