On February 4, Enterprise hosted the virtual 2021 Affordable Housing Forum, a biennial event started in 2019, bringing together 200 elected and appointed public officials and affordable housing advocates from around the state to discuss the continuing affordable housing needs of New Yorkers, heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic and economic hardship.
The Forum provided the opportunity for elected and agency officials to speak directly with our coalition of advocates about affordable housing challenges and solutions. These conversations set the stage for key legislative priorities in 2021 and beyond, for both advocates and government, and deepened our working relationships.
The event began with opening remarks from Housing Committee Chairs Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz.
Guests then moved to various virtual “rooms” to attend topic-specific panel discussions between elected officials and advocates. These sessions covered Rural Housing, Affordable Housing Finance, Public Housing, Supportive Housing and Homelessness, Fair Housing, Homeownership, Advocacy, and Sustainability.
After two blocks of topic-specific sessions, all guests returned to attend a closing Agency Commissioners’ Panel, featuring NYS Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, NYS Division of Human Rights Commissioner Johnathan Smith, and NYC Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Louise Carroll.
Enterprise thanks our guests for their robust participation. We are pleased to have hosted a successful virtual event, and look forward to reconvening for our next Forum in Albany in 2023.
We also extend a big thank you to the following elected official and advocate panelists for their insightful discussions:
- Senator Brian Benjamin
- Senator Michelle Hinchey
- Senator Brian Kavanagh
- Senator Zellnor Myrie and Edline Jacquet
- Senator James Sanders
- Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz
- Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal
- Assembly Member Michaelle Solages
- Mike Borges, Rural Housing Coalition
- Jeff Eaton, Arbor Housing and Development
- Bernell Grier, IMPACCT Brooklyn
- Jolie Milstein, New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH)
- Jessica Katz, Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC)
- Bill Simmons, New York State Public Housing Authority Directors Association (NYSPHADA)
- Maclain Berhaupt, Supportive Housing Network of New York
- Jeannette Ruffins, Homeward NYC
- Chris Allaire, Housing Opportunities Made Equal
- Fred Freiberg, Fair Housing Justice Center
- Lourdes Rosa-Carrasquillo, Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY
- Kevin O’Connor, Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO)
- Christie Peale, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
- Cea Weaver, Housing Justice for All
- Barika Williams, Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
- Julie Barrett O'Neill, LISC Western NY
- Valerie White, LISC NYC
- Sarah Burger, PUSH Buffalo
