Former HUD regional directors: ‘Good luck’ Lynne Patton

Nicole Lafond
Jul 28, 2017 · 7 min read
Lynne Patton of the Eric Trump Foundation during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Lynne Patton just inherited the best view in the city.

That’s according to Allison Lee, CEO of Albany Strategic Advisors, who used to work in the office Patton has occupied for the past two months as the Director of the New York and New Jersey region of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“I never wanted to leave. The office has a gorgeous 360-view of Manhattan,” Lee said.

The concrete and chrome surfaced building in lower Manhattan where President Donald Trump’s HUD appointee now works resembles most federal buildings. Metal gates block the front entrance. Guards are present at every corner. Employees enter and exit the building through a secure entrance that requires a smart card to open the gate. Only visitors who have an appointment may enter through a back entrance of the building, which requires a thorough bag search and ID screening.

Meanwhile, 12 miles north in central Harlem, Keysha Finch and her fellow residents at Drew Hamilton Houses, whose living conditions Patton is now overseeing, are lucky if the front security camera is operating.

The walls of Finch’s apartment are caving in. There are leaks so deep within the drywall that pieces of plaster fall on her while she’s using the restroom. On most days, it’s “anyone’s guess” if the elevator in the 21-story building will even work, she said.

That’s not an issue at 26 Federal Plaza, where the elevators reliably shoot up and down the 41-floor building, according to employees chatting in the plaza behind the structure.

While Patton can’t be blamed for the grandeur of the office she now works in, the stark contrast between the work spaces she and other government employees share and the housing conditions of residents she’s serving is just one of many criticisms Patton has received since she was appointed by the Trump administration to oversee federal funding for the largest housing authority in the country.

It’s been widely reported that NYCHA residents are consistently frustrated with their living conditions. Here are a few examples of complaints voiced on social media from this past month.

The resume speaks for itself

Before Marisel Morales took over as the New York and New Jersey regional director for HUD in 2001, she had experience in local, state and federal government under her belt.

And when she left the HUD office in 2004, she could add “oversaw the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after 9–11” to her resume. Morales accepted the job just 10 days before the terrorist attack and was immediately tasked with overseeing the $3.7 billion appropriation that funded rebuilding, she said.

Lynne Patton of the Eric Trump Foundation walks to the podium during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Morales never asked for that responsibility. In fact, she didn’t even apply for the job. Former President George W. Bush’s administration approached her because she’d served in the Department of Energy, under two New Jersey governors and in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

And on top of that work portfolio, Morales devoted much of her free time over the years to volunteering with housing advocacy groups in New York and New Jersey.

“I had relationships with the key players,” she said.

Similarly, when Lee was appointed in 1999, she had already spent several years spurring on economic development in New York State. She’d previously served in the New York State Assembly and state congressional delegation, as well as in administrative roles in the cities of Newburgh and Beacon.

Patton’s resume pales in comparison. She graduated from the University of Miami in 1995 and started working for the Trump family in 2009 as an event coordinator, according to her LinkedIn profile. She took over as the vice president to the Eric Trump Foundation in 2011, where she, among many other things, oversaw fundraising, charity donations and reportedly even helped plan Eric Trump’s wedding.

She joined the Trump campaign as a senior adviser and “family liaison” in June 2015 and was hired by Secretary of HUD Ben Carson this past January as the director of public engagement for his office. She started her current position in June amid a swell of backlash. After repeated contacts with Patton’s pressroom, a spokesperson said she would not be giving interviews about her credential or plans for the job until she’s established her priorities for the agency.

But Morales said Patton’s resume speaks for itself.

“Let’s just say, I was very concerned when I saw this,” Morales said. “Even though I understand this is political patronage, you still need to bring something to the table. For both parties, up until now, that’s always been the case.”

Housing advocates across the country, like the Afro-Latino Association, are frustrated by Patton’s appointment.

‘What does she think the job is?’

Just weeks into her new gig, Patton told the New York Times she believes the HUD job is “not a housing-heavy role.”

It’s more about contacts and making bipartisan connections, she said.

And while the position does involve some networking and politicking, it goes much deeper than that, according to Oksana Mironova, a housing analyst for Community Service Society. The office oversees billions of federal dollars and the director is tasked with administering the budget laid out by Congress for that region. As director, she will help implement federal programs specifically related to low-income housing issues, like assistance for public housing residents and the homeless, she said.

“It’s the middle step,” Mironova said. “They kind of shepherd the whole process.”

When Morales heard of Patton’s assessment of the position, she couldn’t help but scoff: “If it’s not housing heavy, what does she think the job is?” she said. “Good luck to her. It will be interesting to see.”

During her three years as director, Morales was tasked with solving several housing and development-related “disasters,” or “brush fires,” as Lee put it, on a daily basis. The regional director is required to report directly to the assistant secretary of HUD and she often had to handle issues herself without the help of staff.

“There’s no one to delegate work to and that’s by design,” Morales said. “I had top-secret clearance through the federal government, so a lot of the stuff that came to me I couldn’t share. You’re the only one who can see a lot of problems you have to resolve.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on African American History Month in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. From left are, Omarosa Manigault, Trump, Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson, and Lynne Patton. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

She’s loyal to Trump, who is rife with conflicts of interest in New York real estate

As an eight-year employee of the Trump family, Patton is a self-proclaimed loyalist to the President and his family, as she expresses often on her personal Twitter and during her speech at the Republican National Convention last summer.

Patton has tweeted several times from her personal Twitter account this summer supporting Trump policies and defending him against allegations of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election.

Patton’s loyalty to the President could cause issues for her office as more is revealed about Trump’s conflicts of interest in New York real estate. The Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform determined this week those conflicts warrant an investigation.

In July Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Hakeem Jeffries of New York sent a letter to Trump, his foundation and Carson asking for documents related to Trump’s real estate assets. Specifically, the two congressmen want information about Trump’s holdings in a public housing development in Brooklyn called Starrett City. HUD pays millions of dollars annually to owners of this development and the President maintains a 4 percent ownership of the property, the letter said. They also asked for information related to Patton’s hiring, saying they have concerns about her professed loyalty to the Trump family and whether that could play into decisions she makes in her new decision, Cummings office said.

This week, those efforts expanded. The Democratic members of the Oversight Committee sent letters to every cabinet secretary and other federal agency requesting information about how each department is spending federal money on products and services that go to businesses owned or affiliated with the Trump organization, according to Cummings office.

HUD’s press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Read the full letter the Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee sent HUD on Aug. 8.

Patton, for her part, has elected to recuse herself from any policy decisions that may relate to the Starrett City to “avoid any perception of impropriety or conflict,” a Patton spokesperson recently told The Gothamist.

But that decision may not go far enough to prevent a potential conflict of interest, according to Mironova.

“The real estate market is generally really connected,” she said. “HUD policies could influence things beyond public housing. If HUD makes a decision to sell off all public housing in New York, that could drive up the rental market in neighborhoods and force private renters out of their homes.”

Residents: ‘We’re at square one again’

While Patton’s lack of experience and understanding of the job may be troubling to some, Ramona Minor, tenant union president and resident of the De Hostos Houses, said her main concern is improving conditions in her building. The elevators never work and there are constant issues with the roof leaking, she said. But more important than the maintenance issues, she said she just wants someone in a leadership position who cares about residents’ day-to-day lives.

“We’re at that square one again,” she said of Patton’s appointment. “You have these people that are spending two to three thousand dollars a months for rent who are in charge. They work and have jobs, they come to work and go home and they know their elevator is working.”

    Nicole Lafond

    Written by

    Newswriter @TPM & grad student @Columbiajourn. Former: @news_gazette, @DailyCaller & @TheGlimmerGlass.

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