NEW YORK CITY—The NYC Housing Partnership has appointed a new general counsel, Crystal Kay. She comes from the Brooklyn Legal Service Corporation working in the community & economic development program as a senior staff attorney, where she represented nonprofit developers in large-scale affordable housing real estate transactions.

Crystal Kay, general counsel, NYC Housing Partnership

Kay brings legal experience in project acquisition, predevelopment financing, construction/rehabilitation and permanent loan financing for the development of affordable housing. Previously, she was an associate in Robinson & Cole LLP's real estate and development group for three and a half years. At that firm, she represented institutional lenders in affordable housing financing transactions, tax-exempt bond financing, and low-income housing tax credit projects.

Prior to that position, Kay worked as an associate at Cullen and Dykman LLP in the banking and commercial real estate lending practice. She received her JD from Rutgers Law School. Kay also earned her bachelor's degree in American studies from Wesleyan University, and studied abroad in Vietnam.

“Her experience and expertise in affordable real estate transactions is extremely valuable as we expand our mission improving opportunities for New Yorkers to access workforce housing,” says Dan Martin, president and CEO of the Housing Partnership.

Kay replaced Abigail Patterson who this month joined the law firm Nixon Peabody as an associate. Patterson was the Housing Partnership's general counsel for nearly eight years.

The Housing Partnership is a non-for-profit intermediary for the development of new and rehabilitated affordable housing. For almost 40 years, the organization has facilitated partnerships among private sector developers, financial institutions and city, state and federal agencies. They have been involved in the development of more than 60,000 affordable homes.