Housing on the Brink: The NYC Affordability Crisis

Amid skyrocketing rents and growing homelessness, New York City is facing one of the most significant housing and affordability crises in recent memory. Join Adam Weinstein, President and CEO of Phipps, Kirk Goodrich, President of Monadnock Development, and Louise Carroll, Partner at Katten, to examine the realities of creating affordable homes in the five boroughs and to explore how landmark developments—such as the City of Yes and the recent passing of Charter Ballot Proposals 2, 3 & 4—are shaping the future of housing in New York City. Together, they will reflect on what affordable really means in New York today, the barriers that impact affordability and building, and how the City’s capital budget and proposed legislation might unlock or stall progress. 

About the Speakers: 

Adam Weinstein is President and CEO of Phipps Houses and its affiliates, and Chairman of Phipps Neighborhoods, its social service partner organization. He joined Phipps Houses in 1989, becoming CEO in 2001. Phipps’ charitable mission is building thriving communities. It is the nation’s oldest and one of its largest not-for-profit social enterprises committed to creating economic opportunity and fairness for New Yorkers of lower incomes by developing and operating large-scale, mixed-use affordable housing developments of the highest quality for the long term and saturating those same neighborhoods with human services to foster thriving communities. As of Dec 2025, it has developed or preserved 12,500 affordable apartments in New York City, with 1,000 apartments currently in construction and pipeline of new under site control totaling another 6,000 new apartments and growing. Phipps Neighborhoods offers more than 30 different education and career-directed programs, and access to community resources to help 12,000 New Yorkers annually build better lives for themselves, their families and their community, magnifying impact in neighborhoods where Phipps has a substantial housing presence. Adam is a graduate of Yale College with an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is involved as a board member with a number of civic and policy organizations, most of which relate to affordable housing and economic opportunity. He lives with his family in the beautiful Bronx. 

Kirk Goodrich has more than 30-years experience in the fields of community development, affordable housing finance and real estate development. Much of his initial experience was gained during an almost 10-year tenure overseeing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) syndication business for Enterprise Community Investment in the New York Region. During that period, 12,000 units were financed in the region with approximately $1 billion invested. He currently serves as President at Monadnock Development. Monadnock has acquired or developed 50+ projects containing more than 11,000 units with total development costs in excess of $3.5 billion. Kirk serves as co-host with Rafael Cestero of The Housing Problem Podcast (https://thehousingproblem.com/). He also writes and speaks extensively on affordable housing policy and practice. Kirk is a co-producer of a feature-length documentary on the history and success of the Nehemiah Homeownership Program in Brooklyn, New York, which is completed and being submitted to film festivals. 

Louise Carroll, a well-known figure in New York City's affordable housing community, has the depth of experience to steer clients through the financial and legal complexities of affordable housing and mixed-income housing projects. With a distinguished career in public service that spanned over 20 years, including a tenure as commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and chair of the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), the city's bond issuer, Louise has a keen understanding of the policies and processes that developers and project owners must navigate.

This event is part of The Menschel Lecture Series for History, Art, and Culture. 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.