Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced two new appointments to the Rent Guidelines Board: David Reiss, a Brooklyn Law School professor specialized in property law, and Hilary Botein, a professor at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. The board is responsible for establishing rent adjustments for approximately one million dwelling units subject to rent stabilization in New York City. Reiss and Botein will serve as public members of the Board.
“Professors Reiss and Botein are experts in real estate law and urban policy planning and will serve New Yorkers fairly as they work to strike the right balance on any rent adjustments,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I am honored to have them accept these positions on the Rent Guidelines Board as we work to make this City more just and more equitable, and thank K. Sabeel Rahman and Steven Flax who have served New Yorkers so well.”
About David Reiss
Professor Reiss concentrates on real estate finance and community development. He is the founding director of the Community Development Clinic, and teaches a Property Law Colloquium at Brooklyn Law School. He is an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowship Committee Member.
Reiss, who also currently works at NYU’s Furman Center, was a visiting clinical associate professor at the Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice; an associate in the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in its real estate department; and an associate in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster in its land use and environmental law group.
He clerked for Judge Timothy Lewis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to attending law school, he worked for a non-profit organization that assists people who have psychiatric disabilities as they make the transition from shelters and hospitals to independent living.
About Hilary Botein
Hilary Botein is an associate professor at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. Her research explores factors that influence urban development, with special attention to policies and programs underlying affordable housing and community development, including for vulnerable populations. She teaches courses on housing policy, housing and community development policy, and a course for the National Urban Fellows graduate program. She has been at Baruch since 2007. She was a Public Policy Fellow at Columbia University.
From 1999 to 2003, she was Director of Program & Policy Development at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Prior to her academic career, she worked for 18 years as an attorney and policy analyst on affordable housing and economic justice issues, primarily in New York City.
About the NYC Rent Guidelines Board
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board is mandated to establish rent adjustments for the approximately one million dwelling units subject to the Rent Stabilization Law in New York City. The Board holds an annual series of public meetings and hearings to consider research from staff and testimony from owners, tenants, advocacy groups and industry experts. The RGB staff is responsible for providing administrative support to the Board and prepares research regarding the economic condition of the stabilized residential real estate industry including operating and maintenance costs, the cost of financing, housing supply and cost of living indices. The RGB staff engages in year-round research efforts, publishes its reports for use by the public, other governmental agencies and private organizations, and provides information to the public on housing questions.
