Categories: Network Events
06.15.2016
1,300 members of the New York supportive housing community came together to celebrate our major achievements this past year.
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Executive Director Laura Mascuch welcomes the crowd.
The 16th Annual Supportive Housing Conference brought together some 1,300 members of the New York supportive housing community – the largest such gathering in the country -- to celebrate our major achievements this past year: securing commitments from the Mayor and Governor for 35,000 new units (although we are still hanging fire on the Governor’s 20K)! Network Board Treasurer Ralph Fasano and Executive Director Laura Mascuch welcomed the crowd. Deputy Mayor Herminia Palacio offered opening remarks, followed by greetings from the Governor delivered by Jamie Rubin, the Commissioner and CEO of NYS’ Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). The Center for Urban Community Services’ Tony Hannigan, who has been innovating in supportive housing for more than 30 years, described the journey, and introduced two tenants, Jamar Daniels and Enrique Pagan, who shared their personal stories of change and redemption, a crucial and humbling reminder of the human impact of our movement.
We’d like to express enormous gratitude to everyone who attended, spoke and volunteered at the 16th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference. We host the conference to shine a light on the extraordinary work being done by our more than 200 nonprofit members. We salute you, and we thank you for creating 50,000 units of supportive housing in New York State and, through working together, winning the largest commitments to supportive housing in history.
This year’s workshops reflected the incredible diversity of our community. To learn more about each workshop – including sessions on housing young families, joint ventures, zoning text amendments (ZQA), hoarding, housing first, and many other topics – follow this link.
The conference took off with eight simultaneous workshops to follow the morning session, including one on “Tackling the Housing and Homelessness Crisis” with NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been, NYC Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael Perrin, NYS HCR Commissioner and CEO James S. Rubin, and NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) Commissioner and M.D. Ann Marie T. Sullivan. Panelists discussed the city and state programs initiated to meet the housing needs of vulnerable New Yorkers.
Another morning workshop informed attendees on the innovative new methods of financing supportive housing projects and featured NYC HPD Division of Special Needs Housing Director of Planning and Development Emily Lehman, Win Vice President of Real Estate Jerry Mascuch, NYC Housing Development Corporation President Gary Rodney, and Nixon Peabody LLP Strategic Policy Advisor Deborah VanAmerongen.
Robert Myers, Ph.D, Senior Deputy Commissioner & Division Director, NYS Office of Mental Health, and Gary Belkin, M.D., Executive Deputy Commissioner for Mental Hygiene, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene led a wide-ranging conversation about what HCBS, DSRIP, and ThriveNYC mean for supportive housing.
Other panels addressed increasingly important issues like serving particularly vulnerable families, such as those with young parents. Panelists included Services for the UnderServed Child Life Specialist Janell Abraham, Parenting Journey Training Director Andrele Jean-Charles, Good Shepherd Services Child Life and Independent Living Specialist Theresa Munson, The Door Program Director Reed Christian, and Services for the UnderServed Clinical Supervisor Emily Wyman.
Attendees had a chance to network over lunch and then returned for early afternoon panels, of which there were seven diverse options. In a session entitled “NYC’s 15,000 Units! Nuts & Bolts” NYC HPD Assistant Commissioner and Special Advisor of Housing Jessica Katz, NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) Deputy Commissioner for Supportive and Affordable Housing and Services Kristin Misner-Gutierrez, and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Gail Wolsk discussed the Supportive Housing Task Force’s progress and future.
Simultaneously, a discussion on joint ventures in supportive housing featured Services for the UnderServed Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Property Development Arlo Monell Chase, ShermanLaw Attorney Karen Sherman, and Alembic Community Development Principal Benjamin Warnke.
Every seat was filled at a session regarding 4% tax credits and how they can be used to help finance supportive housing projects, as Betts Housing Partners LLC President Chris Betts, Concern for Independent Living Executive Director Ralph Fasano and NYS HCR President of Finance and Development Marian Zucker gave examples from their experiences and kept the crowd laughing and engaged.
The Meditation workshop featured short meditations with Leslie Booker, Founder of the Urban Sangha Project & Director of Trainings at Lineage Project, and Daiken Nelson, Sensei and Founder of Mandala Kitchens & Café, and insights into the challenges and opportunities of meditation practice with Sasha Parmasad, TM Instructor & Associate Director of the Women’s Initiative at the David Lynch Foundation, and was moderated by Jonathan Rose, President of Rose Companies & Co-Founder of the Garrison Institute.
BronxWorks Inc.’s Assistant Executive Director Scott Auwarter, West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, Inc.’s Program Director Joe McKenzie-Hamilton, and Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter Inc.’s Program Director Robert Yancey discussed the use of a housing first approach for a broad range of populations.
Following a brief coffee break, participants reconvened for a final round of panels, including a discussion with state agency leaders on accessing various resources to ensure the construction of 6,000 units of supportive housing in the next five years. NYS HCR Multifamily Programs Senior Vice President Bret Garwood, NYS OTDA Bureau of Housing and Support Service’s Assistant Director Brett Hebner, NYS DOH Office of Health Insurance Programs Bureau Director Denard Cummings, and OMH Adult Community Care Group Division of Adult Services Associate Commissioner Moira Tashjian offered insights to providers, advocates and various members of the supportive housing community.
A discussion on the successes and challenges of NY/NY III featuring NYC HRA Deputy Commissioner Michael Bosket, NYC DOHMH Assistant Commissioner and M.D. Myla Harrison and CAMBA’s President and CEO Joanne Oplustil was greeted with nods and a slew of interesting and relevant questions.
Other sessions included a presentation on zoning text amendments or ZQA, as copious information was provided by NYC HPD Building and Land Development Services Assistant Commissioner John E. Gearrity, NYC Department of Buildings Borough Commissioner Development Hub RA Scott D. Pavan, Urban Architectural Initiatives AIA and Partner Tony Shitemi, and NYC Department of City Planning Strategic Planning Deputy Executive Director Howard Slatkin.
We’d like to thank the nearly 1,500 registered attendees so much for making this day an absolute pleasure!