President Barack Obama has chosen housing commissioner for New York City, Shaun Donovan, to be the secretary of housing in his cabinet. Formerly an architect in New York and Italy, Donovan will be returning to the department where he worked extensively under the Clinton administration. The current housing crisis poses an enormous challenge for Donovan, but he is widely respected in the political world and his experience in New York injects some confidence in his ability.

Most recently as chief of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Donovan oversaw the $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to build or preserve 165,000 units for low to moderate-income families, housing up to 500,000 residents under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

New York Senator Charles Schumer told The New York Times, “Shaun Donovan has been one of the most effective housing commissioners in New York City’s history. At this time, with the housing crisis raging, he is exactly the kind of person we need as secretary of housing.

 

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