NYC Affordable Housing Summit

In February 2017, Governor Cuomo appointed RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. In March, 2017, Ms. Visnauskas was appointed as the President/CEO of the New York State Housing Finance Agency, the State of New York Mortgage Agency and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, the State agencies that comprise New York State Homes and Community Renewal (“HCR”). RuthAnne previously served as HCR’s Executive Deputy Commissioner for Housing Development, where she was responsible for strategic leadership and oversight of multi-family housing finance programs, the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), the Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF), the Office of Community Renewal and the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services. Prior to joining HCR, RuthAnne was Managing Director of the Housing Advisory Board for the Robin Hood Foundation, New York's largest poverty-fighting organization. The Housing Advisory Board was established to fund initiatives to advance the quantity and quality of affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers. RuthAnne held also several key positions at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), including the role of Commissioner from September 2014 to February 2015. HPD is the nation’s largest municipal housing agency, in charge of the development and preservation of affordable housing and the enforcement of the City’s Housing Maintenance Code. Prior to taking the helm at HPD, RuthAnne served as Deputy Commissioner for Development, spearheading innovative development programs, including the Preserving City Neighborhoods (PCN) initiative, designed to purchase the notes of overleveraged buildings, and stabilize them by ultimately transferring them to responsible not-for-profit owners. She received her Bachelor degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. Ms. Visnauskas lives in Manhattan with her husband and three children.

Sarah advises leaders in government, non-profits, and the private sector to develop new strategies and improve operations. She specializes in helping governments better deliver services through customer-experience and design approaches and promote economic growth through strategic investment. She has worked in the United States across federal, state, and local levels and with national governments globally. Sarah founded McKinsey’s public sector customer experience forum and regularly hosts workshops to bring the best of private-sector innovation to governments. She supports government leaders to grow the economy and improve public–private engagement, which often includes considerations of the most effective use of infrastructure investment, regulation, incentives, and other tools. Examples of Sarah’s recent client work include the following: supporting multiple state and national governments on operations transformations, including for infrastructure delivery and frontline service delivery helping numerous US states and national governments with economic-development work, including designing plans focused on housing and infrastructure working with local governments on housing, transportation, and economic-opportunity issues improving internal operations, including significant reductions in time to hire and better delivery of shared services, for federal agencies supporting leading private-sector companies on customer-experience and human-centered-design issues designing strategy-development initiatives for major nongovernmental organizations, including major think tanks and foundations Prior to joining McKinsey, Sarah worked in federal and local governments in roles focused on promoting economic opportunity and improving government operations. In 2014, Next City named Sarah a Vanguard, an honor awarded to 40 urban leaders across the United States working to improve cities. Sarah serves on the board of a community-development financial institution in Memphis, Tennessee; was the finance chair and a founding board member for a public charter school in Brooklyn, New York; and has consulted with not-for-profit organizations on economic development in Trenton, New Jersey, Memphis, Tennessee, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Washington, DC.

First elected to the New York State Senate in a Special Election in February 2002, Liz Krueger is currently the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a member of the Budget and Revenues, Housing, Construction and Community Development, and Rules Committees. Senator Krueger is a strong advocate for equal rights, tenant protection and affordable housing, improved access to health care including reproductive health, social services, and more equitable funding for public education, including higher education. She has made reforming and modernizing New York State’s governmental and electoral processes and tax policy central goals of her legislative agenda. Senator Krueger received her Bachelor’s degree in Social Policy and Human Development from Northwestern University and also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago’s Harris Graduate School of Public Policy.

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.

Francis Greenburger is the founder, chairman, chief executive officer and guiding force behind Time Equities, Inc. Founded in 1966, Time Equities, Inc. (TEI) has been in the real estate investment, development and asset & property management business for more than 50 years. TEI currently holds in its own portfolio approximately 32.4 million square feet of residential, industrial, office and retail property – including more than 4,000 multi-family apartment units. In addition, TEI is in various stages of development and pre-development of constructing approximately 1.4 million square feet of various property types which includes at least 1,447 residential units. With properties in 30 states, five Canadian provinces, Germany, the Netherlands, and Anguilla, the TEI portfolio benefits from a diversity of property types, sizes and markets. There are concentrations in the Northeast, Southwest, Midwest and West Coast, and new markets are always being evaluated. Mr. Greenburger is well known throughout the real estate industry for his ability to anticipate real estate trends and changing market conditions. TEI was a market leader in the cooperative conversion business in New York City, having converted over 100 buildings including over 10,000 units. More recently, TEI took the lead in the conversion of obsolete office buildings into residential apartments in New York’s Wall Street area. Building on our expertise in new residential construction and re-positioning, TEI is currently working on or has recently completed several development projects in Downtown Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island, Jersey City, NJ, Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Canada. Taking advantage of under-recognized opportunities has been the hallmark of the TEI strategy and a major component of its success. Mr. Greenburger also has a passion for the arts. He is the founder and principal benefactor of Omi International Arts Center, a 27 year-old not-for-profit arts colony and educational center which hosts residency programs for visual artists, writers, dancers, musicians, and architects from all over the world; as well as a renowned sculpture park which is open to the public on a 300-acre property in Ghent, New York just south of Albany. Mr. Greenburger himself is an art collector (his office is a virtual gallery) and he owns over 500 contemporary paintings and sculptures. He was awarded the insignia of chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government because of his commitment to the arts and his founding of the Omi International Arts Center. In addition, Mr. Greenburger is the Chairman of S.J. Greenburger Associates, Inc., a literary agency founded by his father 86 years ago, representing many world renowned and best selling authors including Dan Brown, Brad Thor, Daniel Amen, Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Preiss Glasser, and Rosemary Wells. Most recently, Mr. Greenburger founded the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, which advocates for reforms to the criminal justice system, in 2014. In the capacity of the Founder and President of the organization, Mr. Greenburger serves as President of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Executive Committee and is an Ex. Officio member of all other board committees. Mr. Greenburger guides the Center’s policy and advocacy efforts to ensure that the agency’s actions are in line with its mission, through weekly meetings with the Center’s Executive Director. He also reviews annual budgets, audits and financial statements and approves all expenditures over $1000. Mr. Greenburger is also a very active board member of several not-for-profit organizations: Alliance for Downtown New York, Baruch Real Estate Advisory Board for the Department of Real Estate, Lavigny Writer’s Residency, Lincoln Center – Real Estate and Construction Council, Little Red Schoolhouse/Elizabeth Irwin High School Board of Trustees, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, MASS MoCA (contemporary art museum), Michael Wolk Heart Foundation, NYU Real Estate Institute Advisory Board, Omi International Arts Center, Inc., Sports and Arts In Schools Foundation, and the Zicklin School of Business Dean’s Council at Baruch College. Mr. Greenburger graduated from Baruch College in 1974 with a degree in Public Administration. In addition to real estate and the arts, Mr. Greenburger is an avid tennis player. He resides in Manhattan with his wife Isabelle Autones and children Morgan, Noah, Julia and Claire.

Ty joined Taconic in 2017 and is responsible for the acquisition of residential assets, primarily workforce housing located in the boroughs of New York City. In 2018, he oversaw the acquisition of two Bronx, New York portfolios, which added 505 apartments in seven properties to the firm’s existing portfolio. Ty’s day-to-day activities include deal underwriting, debt placement, deal diligence, capital budget creation, and the strategic vision of the Workforce Housing portfolio. Ty is also responsible for public relations efforts and interfaces with all government agencies having jurisdiction over assets, development and redevelopment projects. Ty was previously the acquisitions senior manager at Related Companies, where he was part of the acquisitions and development teams that purchased more than 2,000 luxury development units in New York and 16,000 units of market rate and affordable housing nationally. As part of his job functions, he was a subject matter expert in RAD Conversions, Project Based Section 8 and low-income housing tax credits deals—as well as and local government (New York City and Boston) affordable housing initial lease-up lottery programs and procedures. Prior to that, he held senior Portfolio and Asset Management positions with Winn Residential and MMC. Ty earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Colgate University and a Masters in Real Estate Finance and Investment from NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

Victor Sozio is one of the Founding Members of Ariel Property Advisors. Serving the company as Executive Vice President-Brokerage Services, Mr. Sozio is responsible for originating and executing the sale of commercial real estate transactions throughout the five boroughs. Since beginning his career, Mr. Sozio has participated in selling more than 550 properties valued at over $2 billion and has established himself as one of New York City’s leading commercial real estate brokers. Through his career Mr. Sozio has maintained a sharp focus on the multi-family asset class, selling both individual buildings and portfolios. He has developed a comprehensive understanding of properties subject to various city, state and federal regulatory agreements, including rent stabilization, Section 8 vouchers, HUD agreements and LIHTC. His expertise extends to the sale of development sites and commercial condos throughout New York City. In 2012, The Commercial Observer named Mr. Sozio one of the 20 to Watch, which recognized emerging commercial real estate professionals. In 2013 and 2014, Real Estate Forum named him and his partners as Top NY Brokers, as well as recognizing him as one of Tomorrow’s Leaders: New York. Mr. Sozio is an active participant and supporter of industry and non-profit organizations such as The Real Estate Board of New York, Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors and the New York State Association for Affordable Housing where he serves on the membership committee. Mr. Sozio began his real estate career at Massey Knakal Realty Services, now Cushman & Wakefield. He is a graduate of Manhattan College, where he received a B.S. with a concentration in marketing. He also is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Yuri Geylik is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Residential Incentives at MGNY Consulting - a leading property tax advisory firm. Yuri pioneered MGNY’s trademark all-around system of qualifying large development projects for Affordable New York Housing program (also known as the “new 421-a”) by combining affordable housing marketing expertise with skilled navigation of the 35-year tax exemption qualification process. Yuri has represented developers of all sizes throughout the five boroughs in qualifying for tax exemptions and abatements, such as J-51, 421a, coop/condo abatement, not-for-profit exemption and others. He also oversees the Affordable Housing department responsible for managing the HPD lottery as well as marketing and lease-up for hundreds of income-restricted units.

Jennifer Galasso is a partner of PKF O’Connor Davies. She has over 15 years of experience in audit and tax work for various affordable housing entities including Low Income Housing Tax Credit limited partnerships and not-for-profit sponsor organizations and developers. Jennifer is the lead auditor for governmental Yellow Book audits and maintains extensive continuing education credits in governmental auditing. In addition, Jennifer frequently participates and represents the firm at industry conferences. Professional Affiliations & Civic Involvement American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) Member, Real Estate Committee It Takes a Village 10591, Inc. [provides support services for seniors] Member, Treasury Team Accreditation Certified Public Accountant (New York) Education Pace University, Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting

Real Estate: Affordable Housing Acquisitions, Asset Management, Dispositions and Portfolio Management

David Walsh is Managing Director of Community Development Real Estate and presently oversees all financing activities of affordable housing transactions in the Northeast Region for the bank. Prior to joining Chase in 2011, Mr. Walsh served as Senior Vice President of Multifamily Programs for New York State Homes & Community Renewal (“HCR”) where he oversaw the structuring and overall financing of over 10,000 units of mixed income and affordable housing located throughout the State of New York. Prior to his work at HCR, Mr. Walsh served as the Director of NYC Housing Development for Common Ground Community, a non- profit housing development organization specializing in housing for the homeless, overseeing the design and development of approximately 1,000 units of supportive housing in the metropolitan area. Mr. Walsh also served for two years as the Director of Brokerage in the Real Estate Investment area of the Wafra Investment Advisory Group, a U.S. registered investment advisor wholly owned by the Public Institute of Social Security for Kuwait, and for seven years as Senior Vice President of the LCP Group, LP, a privately held real estate investment holding company acquiring net leased properties on behalf of in-house investment partnerships and advised institutional clients. Mr. Walsh received a Masters Degree from Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and an undergraduate degree from Western New England College.

Kyle Kolesar is a Senior Vice President and East Team Leader for Community Development Lending. Kyle is currently based in NYC and oversees originations for the Affordable Housing team of KeyBank Real Estate Capital focused on the Eastern Region. The group is responsible for originating financing for affordable housing projects utilizing balance sheet debt and equity, agency commercial mortgages through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA, Private Placements as well as delivering core banking products to clients. Kyle joined KeyBank Real Estate Capital in 2011 and in his time at Key has gained cross-disciplinary experience in management, originations, underwriting, asset management and loan servicing as it relates to Multifamily Real Estate Finance and the Affordable Housing industry. Prior to joining Key, Kyle worked in a variety of environments in the real estate and housing field. Kyle is a native of Northeast Ohio and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Akron where he majored in Finance with a Real Estate Specialization. He currently serves on the Board of Village Capital Corporation, a Cleveland-based nonprofit focused on providing community development financing and capacity building in Northeast Ohio

Robert Riggs is Senior Vice President and Regional Director of CPC’s New York City Originations division where he is responsible for the company’s lending operations throughout New York City and Long Island. In this capacity he oversees the lending process from origination through underwriting, construction supervision, and conversion to permanent financing. Mr. Riggs works hand-in-hand with numerous mission driven partners at the state and local levels as well as non-profit organizations that contribute to the financing of affordable housing loans. Mr. Riggs joined CPC in 2000 as a Mortgage Officer for the Brooklyn Region, where he originated $250 million in the financing of affordable housing. In 2006, Mr. Riggs opened a new CPC office in Trenton, and in 2008 became the company’s Brooklyn Regional Director. Prior to joining CPC, Mr. Riggs spent four years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York analyzing strategies for private lending and investment in urban communities. Mr. Riggs earned a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Princeton University.

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. Mr. Bernstein's practice involves affordable housing and urban development issues in New York, obtaining property tax exemptions and abatements (new and old 421-a, 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. Mr. 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. Mr. Bernstein also has extensive experience helping real estate developers obtain economic incentives for their residential, commercial, or mixed-use projects.

Over the past 25 years, Jonathan Rose Companies has been a thought-leader in socially and environmentally responsible real estate practices. Jonathan Rose Companies is a mission-based, real estate firm recognized for its ability to achieve visionary goals through practical strategies and cost-effective green solutions. The firm has nationally recognized experience in the investment and development of green mixed-use housing and office projects. Jonathan Rose Companies has developed, owned and managed over $1.5 billion in real estate. Caroline Vary joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2007. She brings 20 years of experience in asset management, leasing, financing, design, construction and development to her role as a Managing Director. Ms. Vary led the development of the LEED Gold Certified Metro Green Residential development, adjacent to the Stamford Transportation Center. She is also responsible for overseeing the asset management of the Firm’s East Coast portfolio and has implemented green retrofits of existing buildings nationally. While under the direction of Ms. Vary, the Connecticut Office of Jonathan Rose Companies received an Environmental Merit Award for Outstanding Achievements in Preserving New England’s environment. Ms. Vary is also a founding member of the Stamford 2030 district, an initiative of property owners and community and professional partners working toward the goal of reductions in energy, water and transportation emissions related to the operations of commercial and large-scale residential buildings. Stamford is the 6th 2030 District in the Network which is comprised of leading-edge cities across North America. Previously with Taconic Investment Partners, Ms. Vary served as Vice President responsible for the re-positioning of their commercial portfolio. A member of the Urban Land Institute, and American Planning Association, Ms. Vary holds a BARCH in Architecture and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She holds a Real Estate Broker’s License in NY and CT, and actively serves in the Board of Stamford2030 and Franklin Street Works.

Carthage Advisors is led by Edward Poteat. Mr. Poteat began his career in Affordable Housing in the Real Estate Investment unit of Chase Manhattan Bank. He was also a lender in the Chase Manhattan Community Development Corporation. Besides his career in banking, Mr. Poteat was also active in his community as a member in the Community Board and member of several community organizations. Mr. Poteat combines community sensitive initiatives with creative financial structures to achieve a win-win solution for the client of Carthage Advisors. His unique experience as Commercial Lender and Community Activist guides Carthage Advisor’s principles. Ed Poteat holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Urban Planning from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College. Currently, Mr. Poteat sits on the board of Citizen Housing and Planning Council and is an Advisory Board Member of the New York City Housing Partnership. Edward is currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Andrew Germansky joined Westhab, Inc. as Vice President of Real Estate Development in December of 2017. He is responsible for managing all phases of real estate development including site identification, design development and coordination, financing, due diligence and construction management. Andrew has more than nine years of experience in the field, including seven years at Omni New York LLC where he was an Assistant Vice President of Development. While at Omni, Andrew was part of a team that acquired and renovated/constructed 8,200 low-income affordable housing apartment units with a total transaction value of $970 million and construction costs totaling $340 million. These projects ranged in size from approximately 120 to 1,650 units. Prior to joining Omni, Andrew worked for Forsyth Street Advisors, a real estate and public finance consulting firm for affordable housing, and also for The Mind Company, a startup market research consulting firm in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Middlebury College. About Westhab: Westhab, Inc., founded in 1981 and based in Yonkers, is Westchester's largest provider of housing and services for the homeless and largest nonprofit developer of affordable and supportive housing. Westhab has built or renovated 2,500 units of affordable housing and currently manages a portfolio of 1,500 units. Ludlow Commons is one of three Westhab developments currently in construction.

Jim Lapides is a Vice President at the National Multifamily Housing Council, where he leads multidisciplinary initiatives designed to elevate the industry and its issues among policymakers, the media and the broader real estate sector. He is also responsible for the Council’s nationwide efforts on rent control and serves as a spokesperson for the industry. Before joining NMHC, he held positions at the American Society of Landscape Architects and the National Association of Home Builders, and worked with Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation and AARP while at FleishmanHillard. He holds a B.A. from Denison University and a M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Tatiana Gutierrez focuses her practice in affordable housing law, representing developers, syndicators, asset managers, and housing authorities on affordable housing transactions and regulatory issues. She is an expert in HUD regulatory law, specifically in HUD clearance procedures, Public and Indian Housing and CPD programs, Section 8 project-based HAP contract assignments and rent increases, Flexible Subsidy restructurings, repositioning of 202 projects, post Mark to Market debt restructuring, and debt relief with the Office of Recapitalization. She also has a busy transactional practice assisting developers closing transactions to finance the acquisition/rehabilitation of affordable housing through tax-exempt bonds, low-income housing tax credits and/or various public and private sources all across the country. She started her career in affordable housing at the Harrison Institute for Public law in 2002 and has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center teaching a course on affordable housing. Over her 15 years at Nixon Peabody she has served on various firm committees supporting pro bono, diversity, and women. She is passionate about the opportunities for innovation as governments implement emerging technologies, the increasing focus on ESG in quantifying social impact and the intersection between tech and real estate as cities regenerate themselves in the 21st century. She serves on the board of directors for Women in Housing and Finance and Citizens Committee for NYC. She lives in Manhattan with her two children.