HUD HIRES MULTIFAMILY HOUSING DIRECTOR FOR NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA REGIONS
Arden Sokolow Brings Diverse Housing Industry Experience to Expanding Role

NEW YORK - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that Arden Sokolow has been named Multifamily Housing Director for the New York and Philadelphia regions. Her first day will be November 16, 2015.

Ms. Sokolow has worked extensively in affordable housing and community development, in both state and local government as well as the private sector. She is currently the Managing Director of Housing Recovery Programs for the NYS Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, where she manages a $1.5 billion recovery program funding repairs, elevations, rebuilds and mitigation for single-family homes, multifamily properties and community assets impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

Based in the New York City Regional Office, Ms. Sokolow will oversee asset management of HUD's extensive Multifamily Housing portfolio in the New York and Philadelphia regions, comprising rent-subsidized properties for families (Project-Based Rental Assistance), seniors (Section 202 Housing), and people with disabilities (Section 811 Housing). She also will be responsible for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance underwriting and loan production. FHA has been an industry leader in the production and preservation of affordable multifamily housing since its creation in 1934. Ms. Sokolow will serve as a key liaison with the housing industry, public officials, community organizations and other stakeholders.

Ms. Sokolow comes to HUD in the midst of Multifamily for Tomorrow (MFT), a nationwide operational transformation and restructuring to improve customer service, streamline workload sharing and distribution, and institute 21st-century real estate management best practices. Once MFT is instituted in the first quarter of 2016, Ms. Sokolow will assume responsibility for the entire Northeast region from Maine to Virginia, including the Hub Office in New York City and satellite offices in Boston and Baltimore.

"Arden is highly respected in the housing industry for her policy expertise as well as her practical know-how," said Holly Leicht, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey. "She has developed and implemented multiple housing finance programs, making her the perfect choice to lead HUD's Northeast Region through a time of transition and growth in our business model."

Prior to her work for New York State on Sandy recovery, Ms. Sokolow was a Senior Policy Advisor for the New York City Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR), developing recommendations to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the city's building stock. She previously worked as a fund manager and consultant at Forsyth Street Advisors, working with local government and developers to create affordable and mixed-use projects. Ms. Sokolow also oversaw multiple innovative affordable housing initiatives for New York City at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), including creating and implementing zoning and tax incentive programs to foster new mixed-income neighborhoods, and administering loan programs to re-purpose and revitalize foreclosed and distressed multifamily and single-family properties.

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