How Mayoral Candidate, Former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Would Approach Development In NYC

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On this episode, New York City mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan talks about his vision for how he would run the city. Previously the commissioner of the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development under the Bloomberg administration and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President Barack Obama, he says his experience with crisis is what equips him best to lead the city right now.

“I am pro-equitable growth,” Donovan said when asked if he sees himself as a pro-development candidate. “In addition to my deep experience in crisis, the other thing that really makes me unique in this race is that I’ve spent 30 years in my career building partnerships between neighborhoods and grassroots organizations with the private sector to get big things done.”

Development has become a key issue in the city in the lead-up to this race — as the urgency of the years-long affordable housing crisis has been underscored by the pandemic. Communities that have been burnt by gentrification and displacement are wary of buildings going up, but the real estate community argues the only way to stop rents continuing to spiral out of control is to continue to encourage development.

“We need a mayor for all New Yorkers, someone who can bring everyone together and not demonize and divide us,” Donovan said.