A new commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development will replace Matthew Wambua, who took a job with residential property owner the Richman Group of Companies.
Ruthanne Visnaukus, the deputy commissioner for development, was tapped for the position. She joined the department in 2006, where she most recently supervised the progress of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s new housing marketplace plan. It sought to finance the creation and preservation of 165,000 units of affordable housing by the end of next year. She will start as commissioner early next month, according to a release from the city.
Wambua has been commissioner since March 2011. He supervised deals to finance about 47,000 housing units and stimulate $6 billion in investments in various city neighborhoods, the release said. He will serve as president of RHR Funding for the Greenwich, Conn.-based Richman Group. — Mark Maurer