Senate Resolution No. 2313

BY: Senator HOYLMAN

HONORING Sarah Desmond upon the occasion of
stepping down after 24 years of distinguished
service at Housing Conservation Coordinators and for
her many invaluable contributions to the
preservation and expansion of affordable housing on
Manhattan's West Side and throughout New York City
and State

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those
individuals whose professional lives and activist endeavors enhance the
wellbeing of the people and physical spaces that constitute the soul of
the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Sarah Desmond upon the occasion of stepping down after 24 years of
distinguished service at Housing Conservation Coordinators, rising to
become Executive Director; and

WHEREAS, Housing Conservation Coordinators champions social and
economic justice by fighting for the legal and moral rights of
low-income and working New Yorkers in Manhattan's neighborhoods of
Hell's Kitchen, Clinton and the Upper West Side, with a focus on
preserving and expanding affordable housing; and

WHEREAS, During Sarah Desmond's tenure as Executive Director,
Housing Conservation Coordinators attained financial stability and grew
to a budget five times larger than when Sarah arrived as an organizer;
and

WHEREAS, Sarah Desmond brings an endless focus to this mission, as
she did with a devastating fire in a Hell's Kitchen tenement in 1986
that left dozens homeless, making the return of tenants a personal
mission that took four long years but was ultimately, incredibly,
successful; and

WHEREAS, Sarah Desmond takes an expansive view of Housing
Conservation Coordinator's work, incorporating vociferous advocacy for
the creation, enforcement and preservation of the Clinton Special
District, ensuring the character and economic diversity of that historic
neighborhood is preserved for future generations; and

WHEREAS, This dedication to using all available tools to maintain
the vibrancy and diversity of Manhattan's West Side extends to public
affairs campaigns, as in the successful fight against a football
stadium, as well as legislative advocacy at the municipal and state
levels, with Sarah Desmond playing a crucial role in the fight against
illegal hotel use and the danger therein to New York's housing stock;
and

WHEREAS, Sarah Desmond seems never to have heard the word
"impossible", tackling multi-party negotiations with tremendous
intelligence, creativity and fairness, as when she negotiated a complex

deal to incorporate unorthodox air rights options in exchange for
lifetime tenancy agreements for vulnerable New Yorkers; and

WHEREAS, During her tenure as Executive Director of Housing
Conservation Coordinators, Sarah Desmond oversaw the organization's
expansion of free legal services, including direct representation,
pre-litigation advocacy, building-wide organizing support, public
benefits identification and application assistance, immigration services
and elder law; and

WHEREAS, Sarah Desmond is an uncommonly kind, calm and generous
person, infusing the most difficult situations with equanimity,
integrity and clarity, and never hesitating to share her time with the
most junior or most senior person in need of her expertise; and

WHEREAS, Because of these qualities and so many more, Sarah Desmond
has become a trusted advisor, partner and friend to generations of
elected officials, community activists, organizers and any New Yorker
fortunate enough to make her acquaintance and share her values; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Sarah Desmond upon the occasion of stepping down after many years
of distinguished service to Housing Conservation Coordinators; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Sarah Desmond.