February 11, 2022

Dear Partners,

More than three decades ago, I started my career in public service in NYC: first, as a schoolteacher, followed by city planner, community board district manager, NYC Council Member and Bronx Borough President. Then, at the federal level, as deputy assistant to President Barack Obama, director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, and regional administrator for Region II of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Driven by the same commitment to creating neighborhoods of opportunity, I most recently founded Metro Futures, a real estate development and consulting firm focused on affordable housing and mixed-use and economic development projects.

This week, I returned to public service as HPD Commissioner - and it great to be back. It is a great honor and a humbling responsibility. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you, our partners in the affordable housing community. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and dynamic group of developers, investors, social service providers, advocates, and many others who share our conviction that this work is vital to the health and wellbeing of our city and our commitment to meet the urgent needs faced by so many New Yorkers.

For me, just as for the Mayor, this work is also very personal. I know first-hand what it’s like to live in a basement apartment, the challenges facing voucher holders, and the barriers to homeownership in this city. I know what a difference a safe, quality, affordable home can make for a family or individual who just wants to get ahead. I know this agency, staffed with truly dedicated and talented public servants, has been tackling the affordability crisis, and I am excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work alongside them.

In my new role, I am thankful to partner with Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz and HDC President Eric Enderlin, both of whom you know very well. This is the A-Team I join.

Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz is a lifelong advocate for safe, affordable housing and is no stranger to HPD. She was most recently the executive director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC), a research and advocacy organization focused on housing and planning issues in the city. At CHPC, she led a policy and research agenda that made it clear she had the vision, knowledge, and expertise needed to lead this administration’s housing agenda. Before CHPC, she served as HPD’s Associate Commissioner for New Construction. In her new role she will help tie together the work of HPD, HDC, NYCHA, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Eric Enderlin begins his sixth year as HDC President and brings more than 20 years of experience in public policy and affordable housing. Eric has a wealth of institutional knowledge and is known for his creativity in “making deals work.” Eric has done an amazing job leading the nation’s largest housing finance agency and, most recently, expanding it’s mission to serve as the key financing partner in efforts to rehabilitate the City’s public housing stock.

Finally, I give special thanks to Deputy Commissioner AnnMarie Santiago for stepping in as Acting Commissioner, even as she continued to oversee the huge workload of the Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services (ENS) in one of their busiest times of the year, compounded by a global pandemic. AnnMarie shepherded a smooth transition, and I look forward to working with her and the rest of the team here at HPD top ensure that we bring the sense of energy and clarity of purpose and mission to the important work we all do together.

With great partners, visionary leaders, and a terrific staff, I am ready to get to work. Mayor Adams says it best, let’s “GET STUFF DONE.”

Adolfo

Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Commissioner, NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development