Got what it takes to tackle New York City’s housing crisis while ceding the spotlight to your supervisors?
Mayor Eric Adams is once again in the market for a new head of housing, according to a listing for the $210,000-a-year gig on the city’s website. But the new position isn’t exactly a housing czar. It’s more like a functionary who will report to Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres Springer.
That hierarchy clears up a problem with Adams’ last attempt to put someone in charge of housing. A month into his tenure, Adams named former city official and policy expert Jessica Katz as the five boroughs’ first chief housing officer, but did not give her a deputy mayor title, creating a power vacuum where she and Torres Springer split responsibilities.
Katz left her role in City Hall last month after announcing her resignation in May, as first reported by Gothamist. Adams formally added housing to Torres-Springer’s portfolio days later.
City Hall spokesperson Charles Lutvak disputed that the previous organizational structure caused confusion, but said the new role is crucial for reaching Adams’ housing goals.
The executive director will be tasked with “moving forward efforts across multiple agencies to reach the Mayor’s moonshot goal of 500,000 new homes“ over the next decade, according to the listing.
The job posting outlines other broad responsibilities, like ensuring housing development “goals and timelines” are met, advocating for the city’s needs at the state level and lending policy expertise. The role will also serve as a liaison between the mayor’s office and various housing agencies, such as the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and New York City Housing Authority.
“If you are tired of the lip service that is often paid to addressing our housing crisis and are prepared to lead the city in tackling this real emergency, then this is the job for you,” the job listing states.
The new hire will have their hands full.
New York City rents remain at record highs, evictions are mounting, the number of people in city-run homeless shelters has roughly doubled over the past 18 months, and the city’s public housing needs $78 billion for repairs and upkeep. Meanwhile, bureaucratic obstacles, rising costs and local opposition continue to scuttle new housing projects.
“Every time we turn around there is something happening that is even greater than was happening last week,” said Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development Executive Director Barika Williams. “I think it’s critical there be someone whose primary work is on housing.”
The position isn’t quite what housing advocates had in mind when they urged Adams to create a dedicated deputy mayor position from the get-go, but Williams said she wants to see how the person moves “within the highest level of executive government.”
“I feel like the question that is still to be determined, and I don’t think we’ll know this until the person is in there working, is how much voice and power and leeway will this person have?” she said. “How much access will they have to the mayor himself, and to address our housing crisis?”
That housing crisis is having the most impact on the lowest-income New Yorkers. Less than 1% of apartments priced under $1,500 a month were vacant and available to rent, according to the city’s most recent housing survey. But middle-income renters are also feeling the squeeze as rents rise citywide.
Citizens Housing and Planning Council Executive Director Howard Slatkin, a former city planning administrator, welcomed the new position and said it’s pivotal to have a high-ranking official tasked with creating and preserving more homes.
“To deliver on the priorities the administration has announced, they need someone sure-handed and knowledgeable on this all day every day,” Slatkin said, adding that the new hire can’t be “distracted by political crosswinds.”
