Center For NYC Neighborhoods Affordable Homeownership Summit Friday in Manhattan – Keeping Inherited Properties, Fighting Gentrification, Other Topics

Editor’s note: We will have coverage after the event.  Members of the public interested in attending can purchase a ticket at this link. The cost of attendance, which includes breakfast, lunch, and two coffee breaks, is $255 per person. 

The Center for NYC Neighborhoods’ Affordable Homeownership Summit this Friday, October 23. The summit will bring together housing advocates, policymakers and industry leaders to discuss how to resolve the challenges facing NYC homeowners, including rising property taxes, affordability and displacement, through panels such as “ Property Taxes and the Fight to Stay.”

Center for New York City Neighborhoods to Host Annual  Affordable Homeownership Summit: Forging Our Future

On Friday, October 23, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods (CNYCN) will host its thirteenth annual Affordable Homeownership Summit, a gathering that brings together leaders, policymakers, and advocates across the housing industry to examine the most pressing challenges and opportunities for homeowners across New York.

This year’s theme, Forging Our Future, reflects the tireless optimism and hard work New Yorkers undertake to make the dream of homeownership a reality and invest in their communities. Through expert-led panels, the Summit will explore issues including property taxes and the fight against displacement, flood risk and resiliency, and how construction and preservation can work in tandem to help more New Yorkers own a home.

The day will feature a keynote address by Dr. Carlos Martín, Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement at Resources for the Future.

Friday, October 23, 2026, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Christie Peale: CEO and Executive Director, Center for NYC Neighborhoods

Dr. Carlos Martín: Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement at Resources for the Future

Brian Kavanagh: New York State Senator

Dina Levy: Commissioner, NYC HPD

Patrick Love: Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Development, NYC HPD

Madeline Fletcher: Vice President for Small and Mid-Size Development, New York State HCR

Moses Gates: Vice President, Housing & Neighborhood Planning, Regional Plan Association

Doug Ryan: Vice President of Housing Policy, Grounded Solutions Network

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Martha Stark: Clinical Professor of Public Service; Director of Management Specialization, NYU Wagner

Michael Neal: Practice Area Lead, Urban Institute

Laurie Schoeman: Executive Director, Housing Access & Affordability, JPMC Global Philanthropy

For additional panelists see below

At Convene, 117 W 46th Street, New York, NY

RUN OF SHOW AND PANEL DESCRIPTIONS:

8:00 AM – Check in and Networking Breakfast

9:00 AM – Introduction and Welcome Remarks

• Christie Peale, CEO/Executive Director, Center for NYC Neighborhoods

9:10 AM – Morning Keynote Address

• Dr. Carlos Martín

9:40 AM – From Risk to Resilience Panel

• Rapidly increasing insurance costs across the country underscore the impact of a changing climate beyond the physical threats to life and property. These multi-layered challenges require coordination across diverse actors in the housing sector. This panel will bring together various stakeholders to discuss building climate resilience in homes and rethink how financial institutions and insurance companies can support home resiliency, particularly the most vulnerable homeowners.

  • Samantha Maldonado, Reporter, The City Reporter (Moderator)

  • Mathew Mampara, Vice President, Dewberry

  • Reese May, Chief Operating Officer, Strongward

  • Gwen O’Shea, President & CEO, Community Development Long Island

11:00 AM – Coffee Break

11:30 AM – Morning Breakout Session Panels (choose one)

• Property Taxes and the Fight to Stay: Navigating Tax Burdens in New York’s Housing Landscape (Forum B)

  • Rising property tax burdens are pushing homeowners — particularly in gentrifying and historically disinvested neighborhoods — toward tax foreclosure, forced sales, and displacement. This panel brings together practitioners, funders, and advocates to examine how New York’s property tax system intersects with housing stability, from assessment inequities and exemption gaps to emerging relief programs and policy reforms. Panelists will discuss what’s working, where the system is falling short, and what it will take to keep homeowners, especially the most vulnerable, in their homes.

    • Greg David, Reporter The City Reporter (Moderator)

    • Allyson Martinez, Executive Director, Brooklyn Lvl Up

    • Oksana Mironova, Housing Policy Analyst, Community Service Society of New York

    • Martha Stark, Clinical Professor of Public Service; Director of Management Specialization, NYU Wagner

    • Amber Villa, Chief of Neighborhood Renewal Division, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office

• Repair and Revive: Preservation Strategies for Next Generations (Forum A)

  • State and local governments across the country are recognizing the expansive impact of home repair programs. These investments not only ensure stability and protect equity for the families living in the home, but are a tangible contribution to the safety and security of their neighbors and neighborhoods. Panelists will share how communities and practitioners are navigating challenges and identifying solutions to ensure capital is accessible to and effective for homeowners that need it the most.

    • Martha Galvez, Executive Director, Housing Solutions Lab NYU Furman (Moderator)

    • Freyja Harris, CEO, Coalition for Home Repairs

    • Dominic Martello, Vice President, New York State Affordable Housing Corporation

    • Francesco Mollica, Director of Construction, Neighborhood Restore

    • Valerie Payne, Executive Director, Rebuilding Together NYC

12:45 PM – Lunch

1:50 PM – Capital Solutions for Heirs’ Property Preservation Panel

• Tangled title continues to lock individuals and families out of home repair programs, disaster relief, and traditional financing, leaving heirs’ property vulnerable to forced sales, tax foreclosure, predatory acquisition, deterioration and other loss.Yet resolving title alone is often not enough: heirs also need access to flexible capital that recognizes the unique ownership, underwriting, and legal challenges associated with heirs’ property. This panel brings together researchers, funders, and advocates to discuss what it will take to close the capital gap: on-the-ground strategies for stabilizing heirs’ property, emerging financing models built around the realities of fragmented and informal ownership, the role of philanthropic and public capital in absorbing risk, and the policy shifts needed to help households preserve and build wealth from the property they already own.

  • Roodgally Senatus, Reporter, ImpactAlpha (Moderator)

  • Dr. Jose Diaz, Chief Economist, The Constellation Fund

  • Michelle Mapp, Owner & Attorney

  • Michael Neal, Practice Area Lead, Urban Institute

  • Laurie Schoeman, Executive Director, Housing Access & Affordability, JPMC Global Philanthropy

3:00 PM – Coffee Break

3:10 PM – New Yorkers Want to Own — Why is it so hard? Panel

• Meeting New York’s rising demands for homeownership requires both building new multi-family housing and preserving the affordable stock that already exists, each of which has its strengths and limitations. This panel will discuss how new construction and preservation can work in tandem — examining financing tools, regulatory barriers, and policy priorities to increase new homeownership opportunities, especially in light of the racial homeownership gap.

  • Moses Gates, Vice President, Housing & Neighborhood Planning, Regional Plan Association

  • Madeline Fletcher, Vice President for Small and Mid-Size Development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal

  • Rick Gropper, Founding Principal, Camber Property Group

  • Doug Ryan, Vice President of Housing Policy, Grounded Solutions Network

  • Sherry Wang, Partner, Vistria

4:20 PM – Homeownership in Focus Presentation: the Mamdani Administration’s New Agenda

• Patrick Love, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Development, NYC HPD

4:35 PM – Homeownership Champion Award

• Awarded to Senator Brian Kavanagh, Presented by Dina Levy, Commissioner, NYC HPD

4:50 PM – Networking Reception

Banner Image: CNYCN Summit. Image Credit – CNYCN