Lynne Patton, the new head of HUD Region 2, has no previous housing experience
The Trump administration this week announced its pick to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Region II, which counts the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) among its jurisdiction. But as the New York Daily News notes, the woman appointed to the job, Lynne Patton, has "zero housing experience."
She does, however, have nearly a decade's worth of experience working for the Trump family, first as an event planner, and most recently as a "senior advisor and family liaison" for the Trump campaign. As the Daily News notes, she helped plan Eric Trump's 2014 wedding and until recently helped run Eric Trump's eponymous charity, which is currently being investigated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
HUD Region 2 encompasses both New York and New Jersey and, in New York City alone, more than 400,000 people live in federally funded public housing through NYCHA, which is the largest public housing program in the country. (It makes up about 8 percent of all rental housing in NYC.)
Per the Daily News report, "nearly 70% of NYCHA's operational budget and 100% of its capital repair budget" comes from HUD. Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut that funding by $35 million, a figure that could eventually grow to $340 million. Many NYCHA buildings, meanwhile, are in dire need of repairs—to the tune of $17 billion, per the agency's latest fact sheet.
In a statement to Curbed, NYCHA chair and CEO Shola Olatoyeon had this to say about Patton's appointment:
"We look forward to working closely with the new HUD Region II Director as we continue to provide and improve housing for 600,000 New Yorkers. NYCHA's role in this city is vital in housing the City's workforce: teachers, police officers, hospital workers, and civil servants. We hope Director Patton will continue HUD's commitment to public housing and Section 8 as we strive to provide safe, clean and connected communities for New York City."
In her role at HUD, Patton will be responsible for overseeing funding for public housing—including NYCHA—along with Section 8 vouchers, grant programs, and other crucial resources for hundreds of thousands of people. She'll work under HUD secretary Ben Carson, whose background is similarly lacking in any professional housing experience. She has, however, backed up Carson's "tough love" philosophy in regards to social housing programs, recently tweeting that "You can make life too comfortable for anyone—rich or poor—and when you do, it's a disservice."
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