ALBANY – A Democratic candidate for state comptroller has been touting his affordable housing bona fides — despite having worked for an accused slumlord.
Drew Warshaw is running to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Tom DiNapoli – with a proposal to invest $10 billion from the state pension fund into affordable housing development and preservation.
Until he quit last year, Warshaw was making around $800,000 as COO of Enterprise Community Partners.
The nonprofit housing developer and financier has faced legal action for allegedly operating dilapidated buildings and funding subsidiaries that have been accused of lending to predatory mobile home parks.
The company agreed to a $1 million settlement with the Office of the Attorney General for DC after reports uncovered deplorable conditions at s Mayfair Manor property, in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Enterprise appeared poised to sell off the development, one of over a hundred properties in its portfolio, last year, citing concerns about DC’s stringent tenant protection and rent policies.
The nonprofit also provides capital funding to Bellwether Enterprise, which distributes loans to mobile home park owners such as Havenpark Communities, a company that’s been accused of hiking costs on tenants and evicting owners for falling behind on payments.
“I could not be more proud to have led a nonprofit organization that provides affordable homes to 23,000 people who could not otherwise afford one, and invests $2 billion in affordable homes every year,” Warshaw told The Post in a statement.
“Sadly, that is more money from one nonprofit than Tom DiNapoli has invested from New York’s entire $300 billion public pension fund. That is the opposite of the leadership and urgency we need right now,” he said.
“These homes in Ward 7 that Enterprise inherited were long neglected and Enterprise worked tirelessly to rehabilitate them,” Warshaw added about the DC development.
Political watchers also noted Enterprise could theoretically benefit from Warshaw’s state pension fund pitch. Some of the company’s employees have given thousands of dollars to his comptroller campaign.
“We think it should be illegal to get large contributions from people who are may be beneficiaries of state funding, particularly if the candidate is directly involved in it,” Rachael Fauss, Senior Policy Advisor at good government group Reinvent Albany, told The Post.
State law currently prevents companies that have received investments from the pension fund from making political contributions.
“The era of back room deals will end when Drew Warshaw is comptroller. Investment decisions made by this new affordable housing fund will be governed by a first-of-its-kind open, transparent and strictly-adhered-to competitive process,” said Sara Trenor, Warshaw’s campaign manager.
A rep for Enterprise said that Warshaw’s roughly $800,000 per year compensation was in line with comparable nonprofit organizations, especially given his background in development. Warshaw had also previously served as both COO and CEO of one of the company’s subsidiaries.
Warshaw is running in an unusually crowded primary against DiNapoli and two other Democrats – Raj Goyle and Adem Bunkeddeko. Joseph Hernandez is the Republican candidate.
DiNapoli was deemed the state Democratic committee’s favored nominee at its convention earlier this month, with Warshaw receiving a puny 10% of the weighted voted. Bunkeddeko and Goyle didn’t participate in the convention, but are still petitioning to appear on the June primary ballot.