Based in the heart of the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, CHDC is made up of approximately 112 staff members. The organization currently consists of seven divisions: Development, Housing Management, Housing Maintenance, Horticulture, Community Cultivation, Finance, and Operations. Our social services division is under contract with Hudson Guild.
Joe Restuccia has been involved in the preservation and creation of affordable housing in the Clinton, Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan since 1980. He started as a tenant organizer at Housing Conservation Coordinators (HCC) before moving to Clinton Housing Development Company (CHDC) in 1983. He held various development and housing management positions until 1986 when he was appointed Executive Director. During his tenure as Executive Director, Mr. Restuccia has overseen organizational growth and the development of more than 1,200 units of affordable housing in 80 buildings on the West Side of Manhattan.
He has been a member of the boards of the Task Force on City Owned Property, the Association of Neighborhood Housing and Development, the Clinton Mutual Housing Association, and the Enterprise Foundation Community Advisory Board. He is a past president of the Clinton Planning Council and has served on the boards of the Clinton Seed Fund, Clinton Housing Association, the Clinton Preservation Fund Advisory Committee, and the Clinton Urban Renewal Area Coordinating Committee. He has represented CHDC on the Hell’s Kitchen/Hudson Yards Alliance. He is a founding member of the Clinton Hell’s Kitchen South Coalition and is currently a Board Member of American Friends of Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, a German social welfare volunteer organization.
A member of Manhattan Community Board #4 since 1982, Mr. Restuccia has served as its vice-chair, and at various times chaired Housing, Land Use, Clinton Steering, Clinton Preservation, & Housing, Health, & Human Services Committees. He has also chaired several community board Task Forces including Times Square Redevelopment, Covenant House Redevelopment, Clinton Special District, Clinton Urban Renewal, 34th Street Rezoning and Affordable Housing Development. In the above capacities, he has led community negotiations and settlements, which produced or preserved 1,540 units of affordable housing in 126 buildings. The Times Square settlement resulted in $25M in city and state funding for affordable housing renovated and acquired in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Mr. Restuccia is currently a member of Community Board 4’s Port Authority Working Group, the Port Authority’s Bi-State Working Group regarding the reconstruction of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and the Garment Center Steering Committee.
Mr. Restuccia is a recognized expert on the Clinton Special Zoning District; he both consults and has testified as an expert witness on its regulations. He has been a key participant in the extensive discussions regarding the rezoning of Hell’s Kitchen/Hudson Yards, West Chelsea, the Western Railyards and the Garment Center. With extensive experience in negotiating land use and zoning issues with the public sector, Mr. Restuccia has represented CHDC’s affordable housing efforts to bring resolution of difficult development sites with multiple encumbrances in the private sector. These efforts have resulted in the production of 281 units of affordable housing and 1,000 units of market rate housing.
Fluent in French, Italian & Spanish, he is a graduate of University of Grenoble, Michelangelo Institute of Florence in Florence, Italy, and attended New York University. He has resided in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen since 1979.
Aimee DeCicco came to CHDC in 1991 with a Masters Degree in Real Estate Development and Investment from New York University and 3 years of experience in commercial lending. She brought an understanding of Real Estate Finance to CHDC’s Development Department and quickly rose to the position of Director of Housing Development.
During the period from 1991-1999, CHDC was deeply involved in the development of Supportive Housing buildings financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and below-market rate loans from the City of New York. The projects produced hundreds of affordable units with supportive social services and many units of affordable housing for families in addition to ground floor commercial retail. Aimee left in the summer of 1999 to take control of her family business in NJ and to raise her three children. She returned to CHDC in 2009 as a part-time Asset Manager and was soon recruited to take on the full-time Director of Finance position.
Aimee took over the conversion of CHDC’s bookkeeping to a fully integrated accounting software system and under her control the department and the larger organization have seen year-over-year financial gains since 2010. In 2012, she assumed responsibility for overseeing the Asset Manager, Human Resources Manager and the Administrative staff. Aimee is also responsible for all commercial leasing activities.
Ryan has worked with Clinton Housing Development Company for 10 years. She started as an Executive Assistant, a job she held for one and half years. When leadership noticed she had a knack for people, she became the leader of the HR Department. Since 2012, she has served as the Director of HR and was instrumental in revising personnel policies, maintenance systems, and internal reporting. Ryan has a passion for people and understanding what motivates them. Because of this, she continues to be an integral part of the CHDC team.
Sandra Polsak is a highly experienced, respected, and effective project management executive with 40+ years of experience who has provided collaborative, comprehensive management for some of the most complex and iconic projects in New York, including The Javits Convention Center, The New York Public Library's Main Reading Room at 42nd St., The Rose Building at Lincoln Center, New York City Center Theater, and The Shed. She specializes in projects with unique challenges: landmarks, difficult sites, challenging budgets and demanding schedules and phasing.
At Clinton Housing, she is the Director of Design & Construction, managing the work of 5 project managers to move Clinton's pipeline of affordable housing, community development and cultural projects forward. Currently, Clinton has about 20 projects of varying sizes moving through the development process and expects to complete 4-6 projects each year for the next 5 years. The Development Department is responsible for managing budgets & cost control, schedules, contracts, design and construction administration. Significant projects include Hartley House, a $12M conversion of a settlement house into a community facility with 22 supportive housing units, and the McNulty Building, an $18M conversion of a historic 19th-century factory building into affordable visual artists studios and performing arts rehearsal studios.
Ms. Polsak has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University. She is a licensed architect in the State of New York, and a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Meral Marino is a deeply experienced plant woman. Meral was born in Istanbul, Turkey. When she was six, her family migrated/moved to Austria and lived in a small town surrounded by farms, hills, and forests. It was there that Meral grew up surrounded by the magic of nature, spending her childhood running outdoors amidst the woods and wildlife. Meral moved to Rome in her early 20’s and continued to deepen her knowledge and relationship with plants and gardens of the Mediterranean. Meral emigrated to New York City nearly 20 years ago, initially working in a restaurant - but the plants were always calling.
In 2004, Meral decided to change careers and pursue her lifelong love of plants. She began by working with the NYC Parks Department’s pilot horticulture program, obtaining a Certificate from the New York Botanical Gardens. After two years working for Parks, she became an AmeriCorps member with the New York Restoration Project (NYRP). Since 2012 she has worked at Clinton Housing Development Company’s Department of Community Cultivation, where she manages dozens of small urban gardens, gardens based in affordable housing, street plantings and over 100 city street trees. Meral is always working to connect the community with plants, gardens and the love of the outdoors and does so each day at CHDC.
Kathy Prioleau has been working at Clinton Housing Development Company since 1995. Kathy started at CHDC working as the building manager of the CHDC SRO building at 454 West 35th Street. As Asset Manager, she reviews, amends, and submits building management budgets for CHDC residential buildings, apartments and commercial spaces, facilitates weekly departmental meetings, and works with tenants on tenant/neighborhood empowerment issues. She is also responsible for pursuing all legal actions involving building tenants, acting as the Company’s representative in court cases involving rent settlements, evictions, harassments, and assisting in the preparation of tax returns and other forms. She ensures the code and financial compliance of all the buildings.