Conflict of interest fears have been raised after it was revealed that two of Mayor de Blasio’s housing appointees have ties to developers whose projects will likely show up on their desks.
A letter obtained by the Daily News reveals that Alicia Glen, the new deputy mayor for housing and economic development, is “virtually certain” to see housing deals she worked on at Goldman Sachs come up before her again at City Hall for approval.
Glen has also sat on the board of the Moelis Institute for Affordable Housing Policy, an organization founded by Ron Moelis of L+M Development Partners, a major developer of affordable housing, according to the Daily News.
De Blasio’s pick to head the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Vicki Been, also has ties to Moelis. Been has run the Furman Institute for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University since 2004, and has received $2 million dedicated to her program from the Moelis Institute.
“It is virtually certain that one or more of these unconsummated deals that Ms. Glen considered at Goldman Sachs will come before her in her new city position,” according to a letter issued by the city Conflicts of Interest Board on Jan. 29.
Glen declined to comment to the Daily News but Been said, “I have spent my career advocating for affordable housing, and my mission as HPD commissioner is crystal clear: We must expand and protect our affordable housing stock, and implement Mayor de Blasio’s vision to preserve and create 200,000 affordable housing units over the next decade.” [NYDN] –Christopher Cameron