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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 431-09
October 1, 2009

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN RHEA ANNOUNCE APPOINTMENT OF MICHAEL KELLY AS GENERAL MANAGER

Outgoing Head of District of Columbia Housing Authority Brings 25 Years of Experience to Nation’s Largest Housing Authority

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman John B. Rhea today announced the appointment of Michael Kelly as General Manager of NYCHA, the nation's premier and largest public housing authority. Kelly joins NYCHA from the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) where he had served as Executive Director since 2000. For the past two years he also served as President of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, a Washington-based national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing. Kelly has a 25-year history of experience in public housing management across the country. He previously served as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of New Orleans from 1994 to 2000, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1994, and for ten years at the San Francisco Housing Authority from 1983 to 1993. The Mayor and Chairman Rhea were joined by Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development Dennis M. Walcott in the community center at Brooklyn's Gowanus Houses-a 14-building, 12-acre complex that is home to more than 2,800 residents.

"Seldom do you find someone as qualified as Mike Kelly to assume a position as important as General Manager of NYCHA," said Mayor Bloomberg. "With the experience he brings, he will hit the ground running together with Chairman Rhea as NYCHA moves forward. I also want to thank Doug Apple for his extraordinary service to NYCHA and its residents over the last 8 years, and could not be happier that he continues to serve New Yorkers as First Deputy Commissioner of our Department of Housing Preservation and Development."

"NYCHA has an ambitious agenda and we have recruited the best in the country as General Manager to our team," said Chairman Rhea. "Mike Kelly brings top caliber experience in public housing and a customer service orientation. He clearly understands the importance of building better communities to serve our residents and helping them succeed. We look forward to working together to advance NYCHA's agenda."

"After talking to Chairman Rhea, it became very obvious that the next step in my career had to be with NYCHA," said GM Kelly. "He has a clear-cut vision of what needs to be accomplished and how to get it done. When you combine this with the support of Mayor Bloomberg for public housing, there was little choice but to make this important career move to New York."

As Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, Kelly led a staff of 800 which administered over 8,000 units of public housing and 10,000 units of the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The agency, with operating and capital budgets of over $130 million, provides housing for approximately 10 percent of the residents of the District of Columbia. He is credited with developing community and business partnerships creating new opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for residents. His accomplishments at DCHA also include an $80 million bond deal to finance the modernization of public housing and meeting the 2-year deadline to obligate funds, implementing the first Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program in D.C., with 173 graduated homeowners to date, and securing over $160 million in federal Hope VI grants.

"Michael Kelly provided a decade of outstanding, dedicated service in public housing for residents of the District of Columbia," said District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. "I applaud his efforts in our city and wish him much success in his future work in New York City."

Kelly has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Green Build Champion for a Sustainable Future (2007); Affordable Housing Award for Innovation (2005); and the Public Housing Executive of the Year (2002), among others. He has also been a recognized speaker at the American Planning Association's National Conference (2009), Rutgers University's Summit on Public Housing (2009), and HUD's Toolkit Conference for public housing authorities and HUD staff (2008).

Kelly is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Howard University School of Architecture and Engineering. He received a Masters Degree in Education from San Francisco State University and a Masters in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University. Kelly is married with three children. He begins his new position on Monday.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Dawn Walker   (212) 788-2958

Howard Marder   (New York City Housing Authority)
(212) 306-3322




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