Joseph Hof
Mar 5, 2025
The firm remains committed to working side by side with City leadership to address two housing issues of concern
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, New York (March 5, 2025) The firm announces its recent work to provide notice to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the City Council of New York City, as it relates to two housing issues of concern. The outreach came immediately preceding the Speaker's remarks at the State of the City address to the City Council the afternoon of March 4, 2025.
The firm’s first area of concern, communicated to Speaker Adams's office on March 3, 2025, was, previously presented as the firm's ninth idea to the bipartisan House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus (DOGE 9.0), highlights a perceived conflict of interest within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) during its receivership of failed bank assets that include a substantial portion of the city’s multifamily apartment buildings. Specifically, the firm has identified a pattern in which private investors could appear to be "insuring" and shorting their investments by mortgaging these properties against failing banks, with the hedging expectation that the FDIC will intervene—effectively providing a backstop to their investment. As a result, rent-regulated provisions of these mortgages frequently go unenforced during the FDIC’s receivership, leaving rent-regulated tenants exposed to things such as tenant harassment and rent overcharges, or other risks of tenant harassment, during the period of time of FDIC receivership of New York City's rent-regulated housing assets.
Second, on March 3, 2025, Hof also formally notified the office of Deputy Speaker Ayala of the New York City Council, of an unrelated, but urgent housing concern, affecting disabled veterans in New York City, which the firm previously communicated in a March 2, 2025 statement. Under current eligibility rules, presently housed disabled veterans who receive disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are precluded, unbelievably, from participating in the CityFHEPS rental assistance program. Bottom line, this means that the presently housed disabled veterans are precluded from receiving any kind of rental assistance from the City of New York. "It is exceedingly less expensive to provide rental assistance to presently housed folks, than it is to fund sheltering expenses," Mr. Hof was quoted as saying. Further, given the Deputy Speaker’s oversight role as Chair of the General Welfare Committee, the firm sought to ensure that this issue is brought to the attention of policymakers who have the authority to review and address this gap in rental assistance eligibility.
"By bringing these housing issues directly to the attention of Speaker Adams and Deputy Speaker Ayala—the two highest-ranking members of the City Council—I hope to encourage meaningful discussion and action that prioritizes thoughtful oversight of future FDIC-managed housing assets of New York City, and expand housing support for New York City's disabled veterans. The firm remains committed to working with City leadership, leveraging our shared values, to address the above-stated issues, as we continue to help folks going forward," Joe Hof was quoted as saying.
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