Since 1937 the Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York has, through its impartial research and nonpartisan advocacy, shaped and influenced public policy to improve the City's housing stock and the quality of life in New York City's neighborhoods.

Its board of practitioners includes experts in the fields of urban planning, architecture, zoning and land use law, housing finance and development, and community development. They provide a practical perspective that enhances the Council's high quality quantitative research and analysis on issues affecting the City's future.

The Council was founded by a coalition of intellectuals and activists who worked closely with Senator Robert Wagner in crafting the National Housing Act of 1937 and its advocacy helped to encourage NYC to maintain economically integrated public housing, located in neighborhoods with access to services and transportation.

The Council's research helped to shape the City's policies regarding the large inventory of tax-foreclosed housing that was abandoned and left to decline in the 1970's and 1980's. In the 1990's when the City sought to rethink its policies regarding tax foreclosure and privatization, it turned to CHPC for analysis and advice, which led to the successful preservation of this critical housing resource.

More recently the Council has focused its research and advocacy on issues related to the City's growth and the transformation of the old industrial landscape into mixed-use areas. Issues have included the use of government condemnation, inclusionary zoning policies, the critical need to address parking, the actual impact and effects of gentrification, tax policies to encourage housing construction and affordability, and the importance and impact of regional housing strategy.

With new leadership, a renewed commitment of the board, and a generous gift from long-serving CHPC board member, William Ginsberg and his family, the Council is embarking on a variety of new initiatives. There will be a new focus on best practices to ensure that New York City remains at the forefront of public policy initiatives.

In addition, the Council will continue to develop strategic analysis that sheds light on challenges and opportunities and helps to develop public/private solutions to improve the quality of life in New York City, one neighborhood at a time.




2008 Board of Directors




CHPC STAFF

Jerilyn Perine, Executive Director

In October 2006 Jerilyn Perine was named Executive Director of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council of NY. Ms. Perine is an urban planner with nearly 30 years of experience in housing and community development in New York City’s neighborhoods. She was appointed by both Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lead America’s largest municipal housing agency with more than 3000 employees and an annual operating and capital budget of $800 million. She served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development from September 2000 until March 2004. As Commissioner Ms. Perine was the author of Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, announced in December 2002, that provides $3 billion over 5 years to preserve and create over 65,000 units of affordable housing. Under Mayor Giuliani she designed and oversaw the management and operation of programs designed to return a significant inventory of tax foreclosed residential property to local, private ownership. Ms. Perine formed her own consulting practice, Block by Block, LLC which is focused on affordable housing development and community development in cities in the US and abroad. She has collaborated with practitioners in Germany, Spain,  Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. She was a member of the International Brownfield Exchange between 1998 and 2002. Ms. Perine grew up in New York City where she received a Bachelors Degree from City College of New York and completed graduate work in Urban Planning at New York University.




Harold Shultz, Senior Fellow

Harold Shultz is an attorney who served in New York City government for more than 30 years and specialized in policy and legal affairs particularly in regard to housing preservation, community development, Code Enforcement, and homelessness. As Special Counsel at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Mr. Shultz was responsible for federal policy issues and was instrumental in the creation of the Third Party Transfer Program and the revised in rem legislation, the negotiation of the 203(k) settlement with HUD, local legislation regarding lead paint in residential housing, and restructuring Code Enforcement. In addition, he oversaw the agency's computer technology and the production of the Housing and Vacancy Survey. He is well known for his extensive legal knowledge, his understanding of a troubled housing market, his pioneering work to preserve New York City's Single Room occupancy housing stock, and his efforts to improve conditions for tenants in the City's aging housing stock.




Marsha Nicholson, Special Programs Director

Marsha Nicholson holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Marshall University. Prior to joining CHPC in April 2005, she worked as an independent contractor using skills she had honed in the corporate underwriting department of West Virginia Public Broadcasting where she procured sponsorships and instituted and managed a formal grant calendar. Previously, she managed programs and services for Trustees, volunteers, volunteer managers, and high-end donors for members of the national service organization Opera America.




Jeffrey L. Otto, Senior Policy Analyst

Mr. Otto joined the Citizens Housing and Planning Council as a policy analyst and urban planner in 2004. He specializes in zoning and land use issues, economic development, transportation planning, tax incentives, and quantitative analysis. He has provided technical support to the CHPC Zoning Committee on notable projects such as the Hudson Yards and Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezonings. His Winter 2006 Urban Prospect, "Parking Puzzles," which he has presented to audiences around the City, provides an in-depth look at growing parking tensions in the lower density neighborhoods of New York City. In the Summer 2006 edition of the Urban Prospect, he looked at how the June 2005 Supreme Court decision Kelo v. New London has affected urban planning and local governance. More recently, he has worked closely with the Council's 421-a Tax Incentive Committee, helping to produce the December 2006 Urban Prospect, "421-a: A Taxing Issue." Mr. Otto is also actively involved in planning and development efforts in the northwest Bronx where he resides. He holds an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science from Texas Tech University. He was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska and has worked on planning and governance issues in Germany and throughout the United States.




Sarah Watson, Senior Policy Analyst

Sarah Watson is a housing policy expert from London, UK. She has worked in the development and management of affordable housing projects in London and holds an MSc in Housing and Regeneration Policy from the London School of Economics. Her specialist work experience has been in resident involvement to improve neighborhoods and the quality of housing. In her academic work, Sarah’s main focus has been on evaluating projects and government policies in the pursuit of delivering affordable, good quality housing, and her thesis examined public sector approaches to housing homeless families. For CHPC, Sarah contributes to research endeavors by offering her experience and knowledge of housing from an international context.




Denali K. Dasgupta, Research Analyst, Summer 2007 William Ginsberg Student Fellow

Denali Dasgupta is a research analyst with the Citizens Housing and Planning Council.  During the Summer of 2007, she was awarded the inaugural William R. Ginsberg Student Fellowship.  She is currently a Master of Urban Planning candidate at NYU's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service where she will graduate in May of 2008. Denali received a B.A. from Yale University in 2004 in Linguistics, specializing in logic and artificial/natural language interactions.  She has researched and written on issues in law, business, legal theory, and community affairs for The American Lawyer magazine, Corporate Counsel magazine, The New Haven Advocate, and Legal Affairs Magazine. Denali has also worked as a research assistant on housing and neighborhood issues at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy.




Andrea Perkins, Spring 2008 William Ginsberg Student Fellow

Andrea Perkins is currently a Master of Urban Planning candidate at NYU's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service where she plans to graduate in May of 2009. She has worked for several non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and governmental agencies where she conducted research on transportation, education, and policy initiatives. She received her B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2005.




Constantine E. Kontokosta, PE, AICP, Housing and Community Development Consultant

Mr. Kontokosta is currently a doctoral candidate and Teaching Fellow in Urban Planning at Columbia University, where he is specializing in housing policy, land use, real estate finance, econometrics and urban economics. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University’s Real Estate Institute. Mr. Kontokosta has written and presented on a number of planning, housing, and economic issues, including the impact of the Olympic Games on real estate prices, the effects of inclusionary zoning on local housing markets, and the use of tax increment financing for affordable housing provision.  In addition to his academic responsibilities, Mr. Kontokosta is Principal of the KACE Group, a New York-based real estate development and investment firm that provides high-quality products that balance equity, sustainability and growth.  Mr. Kontokosta is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York, a Planner certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners and a current member of the Suffolk County Planning Commission. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned a M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia, a M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.S.E. in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.