Executive Agency Counsel

New-York-City-Department-of-Housing-Preservation-; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) seeks an experienced Executive Agency Counsel to join the Contracts and Real Estate Division, supporting affordable housing programs including the Universal Affordability Preference, as well as Mandatory and Voluntary Inclusionary Housing.

The role requires NYS Bar admission and four years of senior legal experience, with demonstrated ability to close financings, review regulatory agreements, and draft legislation.

Qualifications

• Admission to the New York State Bar and four years of relevant legal experience after admission.
• Experience supervising attorneys and other professionals.
• Experience with real estate financing, land use, and affordable housing programs.
• Ability to draft legislation and rules.
• Ability to review and analyze proposed legislation and rules.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal services for the agency’s affordable housing development programs.
• Perform closings of construction and permanent financings and dispositions of City-owned property.
• Prepare and review complex real estate documents and government approvals.
• Analyze federal, state, and local statutes and regulations.
• Negotiate complex issues, transactions, and documents.
• Liaise with litigation counsel to protect agency programs.
• Collaborate with agency colleagues and partners.

Skills

Transactional real estate

Zoning & land use

Affordable housing law

Legislation drafting

Legal writing

Supervising attorneys

Liaising with litigation counsel

Interpersonal communication

Education

New York State Bar admission

Job description

About the Agency:

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) oversees housing standards across all 3.7 million homes in New York City.

As the nation’s largest municipal housing agency, HPD is responsible for building and preserving affordable housing, protecting tenants from harassment and displacement, and holding landlords accountable across the five boroughs. Under Commissioner Dina Levy and the Mamdani Administration, HPD is pursuing an ambitious housing agenda focused on the needs of New York’s tenants. With a broad set of tools including standards enforcement, tenant resources, and the creation of new affordable housing, HPD is committed to making New York City a more affordable place for renters and homeowners alike.

Your Team:

Within HPD’s Office of Legal Affairs (OLA’s), the Contracts and Real Estate Division (CRED) handles, among other things, all of HPD’s legal work related to real estate development, land-use planning, and asset management. The division’s primary responsibility is to provide legal services to the agency’s affordable housing development programs, including by advising on real estate financings, sales and leases of City-owned property, and affordable housing regulatory agreements, and by closing the agency’s real estate transactions. The division is also responsible for advising on planning, pre-development, and asset management matters and affordable housing development policy and program design and implementation

Your Impact:

You will be part of a team of talented attorneys and support staff who provide critical legal services to the agency as it executes the City’s ambitious affordable housing plan.

Your Role:

Your role will be to provide legal services to the agency’s affordable housing development programs and associated offices on related matters. This position will primarily provide legal services for the Universal Affordability Preference program, created by the recent City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning text amendments, as well as the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Voluntary Inclusionary Housing programs. The position may also involve providing legal services to the agency’s planning and predevelopment division regarding land use and zoning matters.

Your Responsibilities:

• Support the agency’s development programs by providing legal services to the agency’s affordable housing development programs.
• Perform closings of construction and permanent financings, dispositions of City-owned property, and affordable housing regulatory agreements.
• Prepare and review complex legal documents related to real estate transactions and governmental approvals.
• Analyze federal, state, and local statutes and regulations.
• Handle other complex legal issues pertaining to the implementation of affordable housing programs.
• Negotiate difficult and complex issues, transactions, and documents.
• Work collaboratively with agency colleagues and partners.

Preferred skills

• Experience in a transactional real estate practice
• Experience with New York City zoning and land use
• Familiarity with State and City laws and rules relating to affordable housing creation and preservation, including, for example, statutory loan authorities under the Private Housing Finance Law and General Municipal Law, rent stabilization and the Rent Stabilization Code, and New York City zoning and land use laws and regulations
• Familiarity with federal, state, and local affordable housing subsidy programs and policy
• Excellent writing, legal research, and analytical skills
• Experience managing and supervising attorneys and other professionals
• Ability to draft legislation and rules
• Ability to review and analyze proposed legislation and rules
• Ability to liaise with litigation counsel to protect agency programs and processes
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005

Minimum Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.

Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.