The trump administration is poised to install a close family confidante as head of a major federal housing office here in New York. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.
Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.
On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.
That didn't stop criticism from officials here.
"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."
Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.
She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.
"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.
"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."
There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.
Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.
NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.