Ep. 66 - Meet Alfred Dellibovi, President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, and a nationally recognized authority on banking, the lending industry, housing, public finance, and HUD reform in the 1980's. He was United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1989 until 1992 under Jack Kemp, having been appointed by President George H. W. Bush. In his podcast he tells us why the HUD Reform in the 1980's was necessary and what was done to "clean it up." He gives us insight into his role at HUD, as Deputy to HUD Secretary Jack Kemp, establishing priorities to create change. In his interview, he answers questions and gives his opinion on topics posed by Conrad Egan, Joe Schiff, and Joe Ventrone.
Top Takeaways:
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- Understanding what of HUD's six priorities and goals set in the late 1980s has been realized and what hasn't today
- The importance of quality leaders that people will follow in an organization to get the job done effectively
- Understanding the never-ending need for housing finance in the US
- The importance of encouraging homeownership for every American through tax benefits and incentives
Listen in to learn the importance of encouraging everyone to own a home by offering tax benefits that make it affordable.
"Housing and community development are not top-shelf issues. We don't hear about them, they are not on politician's to-do lists and that's unfortunate. Until that changes, you are going to have the housers and the people who care are about housing working at the margins." -Al DelliBovi
Career in Banking
He retired as President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York in April of 2014. During his 21 years tenure, he led a team of financial professionals growing the bank tenfold to $110 billion in assets. The bank is a wholesale bank that provides liquidity to 330 neighborhood lenders in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Alfred was named to the housing commission of the bipartisan policy center in Washington DC in December 2011.
Al DelliBovi was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1971 to 1978 where he specialized in banking issues.
Donald Trump (r.) is given a tour of damage to the Williamsburg Bridge by Alfred DelliBovi of federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Al was Regional Administrator in New York from 1981 to 1984, Deputy Administrator from 1984 to 1987, and Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. from 1987 to 1989, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
Career in Government with HUD Reform in the 1980's
Al Dellibovi was charged with implementing HUD reform, a legislative priority. He took a first-hand look at dangerous public housing projects in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, realizing that gangs had taken over in many of the projects in the big cities. He talks about how the design of public housing contributed negatively to the living conditions of the residents and the differences in public housing today.
President Claire Shulman cuts the ribbon which officially opens Austin Terrace, a 132 terraced residential housing unit funded through HOP (HDC's New Housing Opportunities Program) in Rego Park, Queens. Also Pictured are from left to right Jeffrey Nixon, Chase Bank, Richard T. Roberts, chairman New York City Housing Development Corporation, Russell A. Harding , President of NYC Housing Development Corporation, Alfred DelliBovi, Federal Home Bank, and Eli Bluestone. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Award
The Clara Fox Award for Outstanding Achievement recognizes Mr. DelliBovi's success as a man of action in public service. "Al DelliBovi is such a perfect candidate for the Clara Fox Award," said John Kelly, Partner at Nixon Peabody LLC, Chair of the National Housing Conference, Board Member of the New York Housing Conference, and a recent Clara Fox Award recipient. "I know Clara greatly admired Al, and they worked together on many projects. Al, like Clara, has had such a long-term commitment to public service and housing. In his role at the FHLBNY he assisted in innumerable projects. He had the same kind of commitment to housing and community that Clara Fox also embodied."
Learn about the contribution of HUD in the housing sector and what needs to be done to make it even better.
Key Moments:
Al describes his experience helping create policies in the housing sector [2:19]
He explains his role as the deputy secretary at HUD which was creating the priorities and goals to recapture the American dream [3:36]
He explains how they cleaned up the mess during the HUD reform act [10:59]
How the HUD reform act was created to follow the money by creating things that eliminated political favoritism of projects [13:28]
Why HUD requires better leadership for people to work better towards making its programs work effectively [14:45]
Why there's a need for lending availability to those who need it for housing [19:37]
The success of the Federal Home Loan Bank which is a public-private partnership and its two components [21:28]
The importance of tax deduction to make housing available for everyone to make them realize their American dream [22:58]
Why local governments should eliminate barriers in building codes and zoning to make housing affordable for everyone [25:40]
Al describes the challenges of the HUD reform act and having people support ideas as a leader [28:48]
Why the negative news media is a huge contribution to the lack of communication in society today [29:58]
Why housing and community need to be top priority agenda to eliminate the current challenges in the sector [31:59]
Al shares how bringing along people to recapture the American dream is his legacy [35:28]
The importance of people who make small contributions to the housing sector that are often overlooked [37:01]
Resources
Clara Fox Award for Outstanding Achievement