MAYOR DE BLASIO: RECORD-BREAKING 37% DECREASE IN EVICTIONS CITYWIDE

Residential evictions by marshals decreased 14 percent from previous year as Universal Access to Counsel program reaches 250,000 New Yorkers

   The de Blasio Administration today announced that residential evictions by marshals declined 37 percent since 2013, with approximately 18,000 evictions in 2018 compared to nearly 29,000 evictions in 2013. In 2018 alone, evictions decreased 14 percent, with 3,000 households and more than 8,000 New Yorkers across the five boroughs able to remain in their homes as a result. Since 2013, more than 100,000 New Yorkers who might otherwise have faced evictions have been able to stay in their homes.

“When we came into office only one in a hundred tenants fighting for their homes in housing court had a lawyer and today it’s one in three,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “To New Yorkers facing harassment and eviction: we have your back and you are not alone. We’re turning the tide against displacement by providing free legal services to people in need, since we believe tenants shouldn’t walk into Housing Court alone when their home is at stake.”

Over the course of the de Blasio Administration, residential evictions have steadily declined year-over-year in every borough. In Manhattan, evictions are down 47 percent since 2013.

This decline in evictions follows a milestone in the Administration’s efforts to combat homelessness and protect housing stability through its commitment to providing legal services for tenants facing eviction and displacement: as of June 2018, the City has provided nearly a quarter million New Yorkers with legal representation, advice, or assistance in eviction and other housing-related matters through tenant legal services programs at the Human Resources Administration’s Office of Civil Justice, including New York City’s Universal Access to Legal Counsel program, the nation’s first and largest initiative to ensure that every tenant facing eviction in Housing Court can access free legal services.

Since 2014, the City has dedicated unprecedented funding for legal assistance for tenants facing eviction and harassment, increasing overall investment 17-fold from $6 million in Fiscal Year 2013 to over $104 million in Fiscal Year 2019.

“Preventing evictions and ensuring housing stability provides the essential foundation for New Yorkers to access opportunity,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio. “From families with children facing homelessness to seniors living on limited incomes to individuals working hard to make ends meet or get back on their feet, our City is working hard to guarantee any household in need can access resources to help them keep their homes. This program is a model that all New Yorkers should be proud of and that cities across the country can look to as they too fight the nationwide challenges of poverty and homelessness.”

“The substantial reduction in residential evictions by marshals is a testament to the critical difference that providing counsel makes in protecting tenants from evictions from their homes and neighborhoods,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks.  “As we implement this important first-in-the nation initiative, we will continue leveling the playing field for tenants in need across the five boroughs.”

“Having a safe, stable home is crucial for people to achieve their full potential,” said Human Resources Administrator Grace Bonilla. “HRA’s Universal Access to Counsel initiative is giving low income New Yorkers a fighting chance in housing court by leveling the playing field and giving them the tools and support they need to remain in their homes and neighborhoods.”  

“This latest decline in the number of evictions demonstrates that the administration’s comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to protecting tenants is paying off,” said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “At HPD, we are working on multiple fronts to ensure that New Yorkers live in safe and quality housing, including designing new tools to protect tenants and hold landlords accountable, from an expanded Certification of No Harassment Program, a new Speculation Watch List, and a new Tenant Anti-Harassment Unit.  We will continue to push the envelope to keep New Yorkers in their homes and neighborhoods.”

Through the Universal Access initiative, 400,000 New Yorkers facing eviction are expected to receive legal assistance annually when the program is fully implemented in 2022, with annual funding for legal services for tenants increasing to $155 million. In Fiscal Year 2018 alone, 33,000 households representing 87,400 New Yorkers received legal representation and advice, including over 25,000 households representing 69,000 New Yorkers facing eviction in Housing Court. In 2013, only 6,500 households representing 23,000 individuals had City-funded legal services.

The first phase of Universal Access included increasing access to free legal representation in Housing Court to low-income New Yorkers in fifteen zip codes across New York City that were identified as having high levels of eviction filings, shelter entry, and rent regulated housing.  During the second phase other high risk zip codes were added, one in each borough, for a total of twenty zip codes across the city.

The impact of the HRA’s tenant legal assistance programs has been remarkable:

·  HRA’s tenant legal services programs have successfully contributed to an overall citywide increase in legal representation for tenants facing eviction in Housing Court from 1 percent of tenants represented in court in 2013 to 30 percent last year.

· For example, in 2015, 16 percent of tenants facing eviction in Housing Court in the 15 zip codes first targeted for Universal Access services had legal representation.  In 2017, that rate tripled to 48 percent.

·And by the end of fiscal year 2018, in the fifteen zip codes targeted for legal services in the first phase of implementation, 56 percent of tenants – more than half of all tenants – who appeared in Housing Court to face eviction proceedings were represented by an attorney.\

· Since 2014 almost 250,000 New Yorkers have received legal assistance through tenant legal services programs.

Protecting tenants is a core part of the City’s strategy to confront the affordable housing crisis. Interagency enforcement is key in our efforts to ensure all New Yorkers have the safe housing they deserve. Last year, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) attempted more than 700,000 inspections and issued more than 522,000 violations. When landlords do not address the most severe violations, HPD takes them to court. In 2018 HPD initiated over 7,000 Housing Court cases and collected $7 million in settlements and judgments.

Call 311 or visit the Office of Civil Justice website at www.nyc.gov/civiljustice for legal help fighting eviction. 

The Holy Quran, Holy Torah, and the Holy Bible All Defend the Sanctity of Life

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Councilman,  Rubén Díaz Sr.
District 18 Bronx County, New York

You should know that on January 22nd, 2019, New York State became the abortion capital of the United States. On that day, the New State Senate and Assembly, along with Governor Andrew Cuomo passed and signed into law the most barbaric abortion expansion law this country has ever seen.
 
To the horror of many, once he signed the bill into law, Governor Andrew Cuomo called for a citywide and statewide celebration.
 
It is important for you to know that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s abortion expansion law will permit abortion right up until the day before the child is due to be born at full term. Babies who survive these late term abortions will no longer be provided any medical treatment, though alive.
 
It is very disappointing to know that, with the exception of two (2) Senators Joseph Addabbo and Simcha Felder, every other single democratic senators including the six (6) Hispanic; Gustavo Rivera, Luis Sepulveda, Jose Marco Serrano, Monica Martinez, Jessica Ramos, an Julia Salazar they all voter for this atrocity that will allow late term abortion.
 
His law will repeal protections against illegal abortions, such as criminal acts of violence against mothers and their pre-born children, or self- proclaimed abortion providers operating at will.

His law will continue to plague Black and Hispanic communities, calling upon expectant women from our communities to continue to sacrifice the lives of their children so that the multi-million abortion industry can continue to grow. Our Black and Hispanic children will continue to be seen as burdens instead of the treasures they truly are.
 
As you know, I served in the New York State Senate for 16 years and spent much of the past 12 years working as hard as possible to prevent what they initially called the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) from passing in the Senate.
 
You should know that when I first wrote a column about the RHA in 2008, I was lambasted by my former Democratic colleagues in the Senate who told me that I was misinformed and what I wrote was untrue. Oh how wrong they were!
 
They told me that the bill they wanted to shove through and enact into law was good for women, even though we all know it will result in dangerous health and safety risks to New York's women.
I fought with them about the possibility, under this bill, for any 13-year-old girl to have an abortion performed by an under-qualified medical practitioner, while her parents didn't even need to know about it.
 
I fought with my colleagues for 12 years, I wrote articles, I attended meetings, and I spoke on the Floor of the Senate. I participated in peaceful interfaith prayer vigils.
 
In fact, the last time the late-term abortion rights bill came to the Floor when I was in the Senate (it was then called the Women’s Equality Act) I spoke at length on the Senate Floor. The only two Democrats who voted against the bill were Senator Simcha Felder, a devout Jew who told me that he fears the Lord and myself, a Pentecostal minister.
 
Since I left the Senate to serve in the New York City Council, I have continued to raise my voice, not only as an elected official, but also in my capacity as one of New York’s religious leaders to protect all human life. In fact on January 17^th, just days before this bill became law, I held a press conference on the steps of City Hall with a multitude of Evangelical Christians to denounce this inhumane piece of legislation.
 
I must congratulate Democrat Senator Joseph Addabbo for joining Simcha Felder and the 22 Republican Senators who voted NAY. According to an article on January 27th, 2019 by Jimmy Vielkind in The Wall Street Journal, Senator Addabbo stated: “I felt someone had to stick up for that child that could live outside the womb.”
 
Good for him and for all of us who will continue to fight the good fight and protect babies and their mothers!
 
This will involve a great deal of spiritual warfare, and you should all know that the members of my congregation where I preside as Pastor of the Christian Community Neighborhood Church, along with the 150 Evangelical ministers who are members of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization where I preside as President, will not despair.
 
We pray that our courts will overturn Governor Andrew Cuomo’s abortion expansion law and decide for the equal rights for every child in his or her mother’s womb. We pray to have that same right to life as children in neonatal intensive care units throughout New York where medical professionals fight to save precious lives.
 
While radical late-term abortion bills are rearing their ugly heads in statehouses all over the country, we will continue to pray. We will pray for Virginia Democrats who squirm to defend infanticide legislation allowing abortion as a mother is giving birth, leaving the infant to die.

Many people of faith, many atheists and many Democrats believe that dismembering an unborn child is a human rights violation. It’s time to raise our voices and make this our priority when we go to the polls.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, we may be ostracized and even persecuted for protecting innocent children and their mothers, and insisting that their lives should be nourished instead of destroyed. As they say, if you don’t take the heat now, you will have to take it later. The Holy Quran, Holy Torah, and the Holy Bible all defend the sanctity of life.
 
I am New York City Councilman Reverend Ruben Diaz, and this is what you should know.

MAYOR DE BLASIO LAUNCHES THE DISCONNECTED YOUTH TASKFORCE

  Mayor de Blasio today announced the members of the Disconnected Youth Task Force following their first meeting, hosted on Friday by Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson. This task force will explore obstacles facing young people between the ages of 16-24, who are out of work and out of school. The Task Force is an interagency effort that will work to examine what obstacles prevent disconnected youth from enrolling in school or being employed, the education and skills employers require, and the policies and programs that affect disconnected youth.

“It is critical that we provide young people the tools they need to thrive in our city,” saidMayor de Blasio. “This taskforce will build our work already underway in this area and will help better identify and meet these needs. I look forward to seeing what recommendations they develop.”

“This task force is seeking to help the most vulnerable young New Yorkers — those who do not finish school, those who are not in the workforce or those who are involved with the criminal justice system,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Phillip Thompson. “As somebody who was myself in foster care for part of my youth, I truly understand the challenges and the need to create pathways and support. The de Blasio administration is implementing a comprehensive strategy that involves working more closely with industries and companies to create relationships and partnerships that help move at-risk people into long-term careers. Some of these strategies are already producing results to reduce rates of youth disconnection citywide but we need to do so much more. I look forward to working with members of the task force to develop a better coordinated strategy among programs servicing youth citywide.”

The Task Force, which is the product of a law passed by City Council in 2017, aims to produce a report that will include recommendations with regard to existing programs that could be improved, changed or eliminated to better service disconnected youth; evaluations, policy proposals and recommendations for changes to federal, state, or local laws; and recommendations on how the City could collect data reflecting the experiences and outcomes of disconnected youth.

The Task Force will be composed of designees from City Agencies, representatives from the CBOs that provide services to youth, intermediaries, representatives from the business community and young people who have been out of work and out of school.

“Equity and Excellence is about raising the bar for every single young person, no matter their circumstances. We can only keep all our students engaged by meeting them where they are, and I’m excited to partner with this Task Force and put even more of our young adults on a path to success,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza.

“Addressing the needs of young people facing hard times is crucial. Through this taskforce, experts from City agencies, nonprofits and youth advocacy will come together to improve the delivery of services to help more and more young people reach their full potential,” saidDepartment of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Bill Chong. “Young people need supportive services and opportunities to succeed and this taskforce will deepen the City's progress in improving and finding effective, innovative practices to work toward that goal.”

"Our future lies in young people who depend upon nurturing and guidance to thrive; especially during the years preceding adulthood when critical decisions are made about education and work.  I applaud the Mayor for naming such a strong panel of leaders who will be tasked with finding solutions to better support our city’s vulnerable youth,” said Senator Roxanne J. Persaud.

“As the former Chair of the Committee on Youth Services, and a longtime advocate for resources that create a better future for our young people, I want to commend Mayor Bill de Blasio for his leadership on this very important issue. The role of the Disconnected Youth Task Force, as established by Intro 708-A, voted by the City Council, will be to study the challenges facing our youth, ages 16 – 24, who are not enrolled in school and are not working. I believe that as a city, we have an obligation to help our youth secure opportunities so that they may become the leaders of tomorrow. The Disconnected Youth Taskforce is a critical part of how we must develop the next generation of New Yorkers, and I am honored to work with my colleagues in support of this initiative,” said Council Member Mathieu Eugene.

Task Force members Include:

Department of Youth and Community Development. Andre White, Associate Commissioner for Youth Workforce Development

Department of Education. Tim Lisante, Executive Superintendent for District 79

Administration for Children’s Services. Ray Singleton, Assistant Commissioner for Employment & Workforce Development

Human Resources Administration. Sara Haas, Deputy Commissioner for Career Services

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Jane Bedell, Assistant Commissioner & Medical Director for Center for Heath Equity

Department for Homeless Services. Jerry Bruno, Strategic Project Manager, Mental Health

Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Amy Sananman, Senior Strategy Advisor

City University of New York. Cass Conrad, University Dean K-16

Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. Carson Hicks, Deputy Executive Director

Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development. Amy Peterson, Executive Director

Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives. Michael Nolan, Chief Strategy Officer

Young Men’s Initiative. Charissa Townsend, Executive Director

Center for Youth Employment. David Fischer, Executive Director

The Fortune Society. Stanley Richards, Executive Vice President

Graham Windham. Jess Dannhauser, President & CEO

The GAP Inc. Tesandra Cohen, Manager, Community Partnerships

JobsFirstNYC. Marjorie Parker, President & CEO

United Neighborhood Houses. Gregory Brender. Director of Policy and Advocacy

Brotherhood/Sister Sol. Cidra M. Sebastien, Associate Executive Director

Youth Representative, Djibril Kaba

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND CHANCELLOR CARRANZA ANNOUNCE 47 NEW PRE-K DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS ACROSS EVERY BOROUGH

Applications for free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K and 3-K for All open today

  Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza kicked off the first day of Pre-K and 3-K for All applications by announcing that 47 new pre-K Dual Language programs will open across the City this fall. The new programs will include the City’s first French, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew and Japanese pre-K Dual Language programs. At the start of the 2019-20 school year, there will be 107 programs throughout all five boroughs, more than triple the original 30 in 2015.

“Building the fairest big city in America starts in the classroom. We believe every child deserves the same strong start which is why we’re providing New Yorkers in every zip code with access to early childhood education,” said Mayor de Blasio. “By offering even more dual-language Pre-K programs across the five boroughs, we’re readying our children for the global economy of the future.”

“New York City’s youngest learners gain so much in 3-K and Pre-K classrooms across the City, and I encourage all eligible families to apply,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza.  “I’m also excited to announce that we’re opening 47 new Dual Language programs, where our students are learning to speak two languages – one of the greatest gifts there is. More New York City kids will get an early start on becoming multilingual, multicultural, and ready to succeed in our diverse world.”

“No one in our city’s history has done more to ensure that all of our city’s children have the advantages of a high quality early education than Mayor de Blasio,” said Hispanic Federation President José Calderón. “Today’s announcement of the opening of 47 new pre-K dual language programs is a testament to the importance of mayoral control. It is an incredible gift of education and multi-language acquisition for our children and their families that will strengthen communities across our city for generations to come.”

“We’re excited to add 47 new pre-K Dual Language programs, and offer a diverse range of students and families the opportunity to become truly multilingual,” said DOE Chief Academic Officer Linda Chen. “These new programs will build on our current program options as our Division of Multilingual Learners works to provide a continuum of high-quality Dual Language learning from pre-K through the 12th grade.”

In the 2019-20 school year, these programs will be in 103 schools, Pre-K Centers, and New York City Early Education Centers (NYCEECs) in every borough, with four sites offering Dual Language in more than one language. The new programs include six in the Bronx, 16 in Brooklyn, 8 in Manhattan, 16 in Queens, and one on Staten Island. In addition to the new French, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, and Japanese programs, the DOE will continue to offer programs in Bengali, Chinese, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

Dual Language classes are comprised of 50 percent children whose home language is the target language of the program and 50 percent English-proficient students. Instruction is held in both languages, and students in pre-K Dual Language classes may continue on the Dual Language track in Kindergarten and beyond.

In addition to the City’s pre-K Dual Language programs, there are currently 545 bilingual programs across every borough for students in grades K-12. Approximately 200 bilingual programs have opened or expanded since the 2013-14 school year. Bilingual programs are available in schools citywide in 13 languages, serving approximately 40,000 students. Building on this progress, earlier this school year, Chancellor Carranza formally re-named the Division of English Language Learners as the Division of Multilingual Learners in order to honor the value of the hundreds of home languages spoken by New York City public school students.

Below is a complete list of pre-K Dual Language sites available in September 2019:

Bronx

PS 30 Wilton – Spanish (New)

The New American Academy at Roberto Clemente State Park – Spanish (New)

Bedford Park Elementary School – Spanish (New)

Ready Set Learn – Spanish (New)

3467 Ready Set Learn – Spanish (New)

Monsignor Boyle Head Start – Spanish (New)

Samara Community School – Spanish (Expanding)

PS 49 Willis Avenue – Spanish (Current)

PS 161 Juan Ponce De Leon School – Spanish (Current)

PS 277 – Spanish (Current)

PS 138 Samuel Randall – Spanish (Current)

PS 73 Bronx – Spanish (Current)

PS 109 Sedgwick – Spanish (Current)

PS 226 – Spanish (Current)

PS 160 Walt Disney – Spanish (Current)

Belmont Community Day Care Center – Spanish (Current)

Brooklyn

PS 46 Edward C. Blum – Spanish (New)

PS 147 Isaac Remsen – Japanese (New)

PS 124 Silas B. Dutcher – Spanish (New)

PS 5 Dr. Ronald McNair – French (New)

PS 40 George W. Carver – Spanish (New)

Brighter Choices Community School – Spanish (New)

PS 238 Anne Sullivan – Spanish (New)

All My Children Day Care 10 – Hebrew (New)

Charles R. Drew ELC 5 – Haitian-Creole (New)

Higher Level – Spanish (New)

Kreative Kare Day Care Center – Spanish (New)

ABC Plus – Russian (New)

Learn and Explore – Russian (New)

District 20 Pre-K Center at 7415 Fort Hamilton Parkway – Chinese (New)

District 20 Pre-K Center at 140 58th Street – Spanish (New)

District 20 Pre-K Center at 21 Bay 11th Street – Chinese (New)

PS 9 Teunis G. Bergen – Spanish (Current)

PS 54 Samuel C. Barnes – Spanish (Current)

PS 133 William A. Butler – Spanish (Current)

PS 319 – Spanish (Current)

PS 1 The Bergen School – Spanish (Current)

PS 15 Patrick F. Daly – Spanish (Current)

PS 24 – Spanish (Current)

Sunset Park Avenues Elementary School – Spanish (Current)

Brooklyn Arts and Sciences Elementary School – Spanish (Current)

PS 89 Cypress Hills – Spanish (Current)

PS 108 Sal Abbracciamento – Spanish (Current)

PS 112 Lefferts Park – Italian (Current)

PS 90 Edna Cohen School – Spanish (Current)

PS 139 Alexine A. Fenty – Spanish (Current)

PS  123 Suydam – Spanish (Current)

PS 145 Andrew Jackson – Spanish (Current)

PS 151 Lyndon B. Johnson – Spanish (Current)

The Little Brooklyn Pre-K Center at 173-177 25th Street – Chinese, Spanish (Current)

District 20 Pre-K Center at 1423 62nd Street – Chinese, Spanish (Current)

Manhattan

PS 163 Alfred E. Smith – Spanish (New)

PS 242 The Young Diplomats Magnet Academy – Italian (New)

PS 155 William Paca – Spanish (New)

PS 5 Ellen Lurie – Spanish (New)

PS 48 P.O. Michael J. Buczek – Spanish (New)

PS 98 Shorac Kappock – Spanish (New)

East Harlem CHS Bilingual Head Start Program – Spanish (New)

Saint Elizabeth Pre-Kindergarten – Spanish (New)

PS 20 Anna Silver – Chinese, Spanish (Current)

PS 188 The Island School – Spanish (Current)

PS 1 Alfred E. Smith – Spanish (Current)

PS 145 The Bloomingdale School – Russian, Spanish (Current)

PS 180 Hugo Newman – Spanish (Current)

James Weldon Johnson – Spanish (Current)

PS 96 Joseph Lanzetta – Spanish (Current)

PS 129 John H. Finely – Spanish (Current)

PS 28 Wright Brothers – Spanish (Current)

PS 128 Audubon – Spanish (Current)

PS/IS 210 Twenty-first Century Academy for Community Leadership – Spanish (Current)

Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School – Spanish (Current)

Castle Bridge School – Spanish (Current)

Queens

PS 19 Marino Jeantet – Spanish (New)

PS 29 Queens – Spanish (New)

PS 163 Flushing Heights – Chinese (New)

PS 197 The Ocean School – Spanish (New)

PS 112 Dutch Kills – Spanish (New)

PS 127 Aerospace Science Magnet School – Spanish (New)

Mi Nuevo Mundo – Spanish (New)

Sesame Sprout – Spanish (New)

Charles R. Drew ELC 3 – Spanish (New)

Little Friends School Sunnyside – Spanish (New)

Long Island City YMCA – Spanish (New)

Kon Wah Day School – Chinese (New)

Home Sweet Home Children’s School – Chinese (New)

Atonement Preschool – Spanish (New)

Corona Friends – Spanish (New)

BWY Preschool – Spanish (New)

District 25 Pre-K Center at 123-07 22nd Ave – Spanish (Expanding)

Elm Tree Elementary School – Spanish (Current)

PS/MS 138 Sunrise – Spanish (Current)

PS 17 Henry David Thoreau – Spanish (Current)

PS 76 William Hallet – Spanish (Current)

Fire Fighter Christopher A. Santora School – Spanish (Current)

PS 228 Early Childhood Magnet School of the Arts – Spanish (Current)

Ezra Jack Keats Pre-K Center at 153-36 89th Ave – Bengali (Current)

District 30 Pre-K Center at 96-10 23rd Avenue – Spanish (Current)

District 30 Pre-K Center at 3252 37th Street – Spanish (Current

Staten Island

Little Smarties Preschool – Russian (New)

PS 16 John. J. Driscoll – Spanish (Current)

PS 19 The Curtis School – Spanish (Current)

PS 22 Graniteville – Spanish (Current)

PS 44 Thomas C. Brown – Spanish (Current)

What is This on A NYC Light Pole?

  The Above item connected to a NYC light pole appears to have some sort of camera or tracking device on top of it, but when A bus stopped at the bus stop the driver knew nothing about a bus tracker. I sent this and another photo (below) to the Bronx DOT Commissioner who thanked me, and said that he would look into what this thing was since he had no knowledge of what it was. 

 I have many ideas of what this device might be since it is mounted on a pole that is facing the intersection of the south bound Henry Hudson Parkway, and West 239th Street intersection. Three different bus routes run through this intersection, and it is mounted on a pole above the Henry Hudson Parkway. So is this a bus tracker, a monitoring camera for the south bound Henry Hudson Parkway, or something else?

The bottom of this device which is connected to this city light pole by two straps looks much like it was home made, that along with the fact that the Bronx DOT commissioner is looking into what this is also should arouse suspicion. I can tell you that it is not a Red Light Camera because there is no flash for the unit.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES MARIA TORRES-SPRINGER STEPPING DOWN AS COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Maria Torres-Springer will step down as Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in early March to take on a new role as Vice President of U.S. Programs for the Ford Foundation.  The Administration will announce a replacement for Commissioner Torres-Springer in the coming months.

During her tenure at HPD, Torres-Springer oversaw the design and implementation of Housing New York 2.0, which accelerated and expanded the Mayor's housing plan to create 300,000 homes by 2026.  Under her leadership, the City financed approximately 60,000 affordable homes, more than any two-year period in HPD’s history, bringing the City’s affordable housing production to date to 122,000 homes. Torres-Springer also oversaw policy changes to reach more of the city’s most vulnerable residents; supported the development of comprehensive plans for investments in Inwood, Downtown Far Rockaway, Jerome Avenue, and other neighborhoods; advanced initiatives to promote innovations in design and construction; and launched several new programs to protect tenants’ rights.

“No one has been more important in our fight to make New York the fairest big city in America than Maria Torres-Springer. Whether advancing rezonings or developing a record number of affordable homes, I have turned to her time and again to tackle the toughest issues facing our city. The Ford Foundation—and the country—are lucky to have her where she’s going,” said Mayor de Blasio.

Prior to joining HPD, Torres-Springer served as the first female President and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she led the implementation of city-wide Ferry, the launch of LifeSci NYC, and the expansion of EDC’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises programs. She also advanced projects including the re-imagining of Spofford, a former juvenile detention center in the Bronx, as a hub for the arts and affordable housing. 

Torres-Springer joined this administration as Commissioner of Small Business Services in 2014, and spearheaded efforts to raise wages and expand skill-building in workforce placement programs, streamline the regulatory environment for small businesses, and launch initiatives like the Tech Talent Pipeline.

“From her work promoting women entrepreneurs at SBS to strengthening our economy at EDC and setting a new national standard for affordable housing at HPD, Maria has been a fantastic partner. New Yorkers will benefit from her tireless work for generations to come,” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen.

“It has been a profound honor to serve the city that I love and be given the chance to make it even stronger and more equitable,” said Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer.  “I want to thank Mayor Bill de Blasio and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen for entrusting me over the last five years with leading the work of three agencies devoted to balancing the equation in favor of New York City’s hard-working families. Together, we have created and preserved affordable housing at record speed while ensuring the city’s most vulnerable communities are protected and implemented major initiatives to spur economic opportunity across the five boroughs.  I am especially grateful to my exceptional colleagues at HPD, HDC, EDC, and SBS and will always be in awe of their talent, fortitude and abiding commitment to our city.”