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Vicki Been to step down as city’s housing czar
EDC chief Maria Torres-Springer to take her place
The latest trend at City Hall seems to be quitting while you’re ahead. Following an announcement last week that the city hit a 25-year affordable housing record, Vicki Been says she will step down as the city’s head of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Been, who de Blasio appointed in 2014, plans to teach at New York University and serve as faculty director of the Furman Center, Politico reported. Maria Torres-Springer, CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, will take Been’s place Feb. 6. De Blasio has appointed James Patchett, Alicia Glen’s chief of staff, as head of the EDC.
The announcement of Been’s departure comes just one week after the city announced that it had created and preserved a record number — 21,963 — affordable housing apartments last year. The mayor touted that it’s the most seen in more than 25 years.
“With her signature brand of grit and grace, Vicki created and implemented our ambitious affordable housing plan,” de Blasio said in a statement. “She is a brilliant public servant and law professor, and her students are lucky to have her back.”
Been was integral in pushing for the passage of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability last year.
Her departure also follows that of Carl Weisbrod, head of the City Department of Planning and the City Planning Commission. He is also stepping down at the end of this month, just as plans to rezone Midtown East begin the land-use review process. [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel