Is this a home run for Obama?
Appoints a houser with a Record of Reform and Expanding
Access to Affordable Housing
Active in effort to end homelessness in New York
Shaun Donovan appointed to be HUD Secretary
President Barack Obama has appointed Shaun Donovan to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Of special interest to those working to end homelessness, Mr. Donovan is an appointee of and supporter of Mayor Bloomberg’s 10-year plan to build 12,000 supportive housing units in New York City.
As the head of New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Mr. Donovan developed a $7.5 Billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers is the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation. Donovan has been the originator of countless new programs bringing together public and private partnerships. In September 2008, Donovan, together with Mayor Bloomberg, announced that the Plan reached the midway point on schedule with more than 82,500 units funded.
Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition said “Shaun Donovan is brilliant choice for HUD. He is an expert on the full range of housing issues and has a proven track record of getting things done and he enjoys high regard across the spectrum of housing interests, from low income housing and homeless advocates, public officials, developers, and financiers alike.”
To watch the video announcing the appointment use this link.
Ms. Crowley also said, “Shaun is uniquely qualified to take on one of the most challenging jobs in the Obama Administration. The country is in the throes of a recession precipitated by the foreclosure crisis, which must be solved. Foreclosures and the recession are causing a new surge in homelessness which the new Administration and Congress must act quickly to stop by increasing the supply of rental homes affordable to the lowest income families, and HUD as an agency has been sorely neglected for the last eight years and needs leaders who are committed to its mission.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has submitted a low income housing proposal to the Obama-Biden Transition Team to be included in the new economic recovery package. For more information on the proposal, click here.
