With a new mayoral administration prioritizing affordability, NYC is at a consequential inflection point. Decisions made now in policy and planning will shape the city’s fabric for decades. This panel moves beyond abstraction to examine real proposals, constraints, and opportunities for housing production and preservation.

Moderator
Drue Kendall is a Living City Project alumnus and Fordham University urban politics student. His work focuses on the analytical and lived realities of NYC’s affordable housing crisis.

Panelists
Moses Gates: VP for Housing and Neighborhood Planning at the Regional Plan Association. He leads research and advocacy for regional affordability and is a visiting professor at Pratt Institute.

Thomas Yu: Executive Director of Asian Americans For Equality (AAFE). He oversees the development of affordable housing and social services for over 35,000 New Yorkers annually.

Carol E. Rosenthal: Senior Counsel at Fried Frank. She is a land-use specialist with extensive experience in rezonings, public-private partnerships, and large-scale urban development.

Cassim Shepard: Author and Distinguished Lecturer at the Spitzer School of Architecture (CCNY). The founding editor of Urban Omnibus, his work focuses on the craft of practical urbanism.

Partner Organizations
INC Architecture & Design is a New York-based interdisciplinary studio that approaches design as a social and cultural act to support human connection and civic life.

The Living City Project is an educational initiative that uses NYC as an immersive classroom, engaging young people with the urgent challenges facing modern cities.