NYCHA Mayor Announces New NYCHA Board Member 20151229

NYC Housing Authority


Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 29, 2015
Contact: media@nycha.nyc.gov | (212)306-3322

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO NAMES ZAIRE DINZEY-FLORES TO NYCHA BOARD

NEW YORK—Dr. Zaire Z. Dinzey-Flores, a scholar of housing policy and design, urban planning, and community inequality, has been appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to the New York City Housing Authority Board, NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye announced.
“Zaire’s vast experience in public policy on housing and urban planning will be a great asset to NYCHA, and I’m proud to welcome her aboard,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “As we work to protect and strengthen public housing for New Yorkers across the five boroughs, bringing in talented and knowledgeable leaders is more important than ever.”
“We’re so fortunate to have Zaire on our team as we move forward with the implementation of our long-term strategic plan NextGeneration NYCHA,” said Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye. “Her knowledge of public housing and urban planning will support our efforts to create, safe, clean and connected communities for our residents.”
As an Associate Professor of Sociology and Latino & Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, Dr. Dinzey-Flores teaches courses on urbanism and social inequality. She has lectured and written extensively on these topics, including publishing an award winning book titled Locked In, Locked Out: Gated Communities in a Puerto Rican City (University Of Pennsylvania Press: 2013), looking at residential neighborhoods and public housing in Puerto Rico, the second largest housing authority in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Prior to her academic appointment, Dr. Dinzey-Flores was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow of Race, Crime, and Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice. She has conducted extensive research on social and public policy for The Vera Institute of Justice, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Before her academic career, she worked in a program considering alternatives to detention for immigrants in deportation proceedings and for the Urban Justice Center’s Homelessness Prevention Project. Dr. Dinzey-Flores received a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Sociology and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, a M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University.
As she welcomed Dr. Dinzey-Flores, Chair Olatoye also thanked outgoing NYCHA Board member Kyle Kimball for his service. Mr. Kimball, formerly president of New York City Economic Development Corporation, was a tremendous asset for NYCHA, and a diligent and supportive advisor throughout his tenure on the board. The NYCHA Board is comprised of seven members appointed by the Mayor and includes three public housing resident members. The Mayor designates one of the members as the Chair. The Chair is the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority and is responsible for supervising the business and affairs of the Authority. Members’ duties include voting on contracts, resolutions, policies, motions, rules, and regulations.