Housing Court Advisory Council

Housing Court judges are appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau with the assistance of the Housing Court Advisory Council. The 14 members of the Council conduct initial screenings and interviews of applicants and submit a list of approved candidates to the Chief Administrative Judge. The members of the Council are appointed by the Chief Administrative Judge. The current members are:

Civic Group
Jean Callanhan, Esq. (Vera Institute of Justice) - 12/31/11
Wanda Jackson, Esq. (National Urban League) - 12/31/11

Real Estate Industry
Matthew S. Brett, Esq. (Blekin Burden Wenig & Goldman) - 12/31/11
Ronald D. Hariri, Esq. (Ronald D. Hariri & Assocs) - 12/31/11

Tenants' Organizations
Samuel J. Himmelstein, Esq. (Himmelstein McConnell Gribben) - 12/31/11
Larry Jayson (Brooklyn Housing and Family Services) - 12/31/10

Public-at-Large
Arthur J. Soong, Esq. (Soong & Liu, Esqs.) - 12/31/11
Eileen O'Toole, Esq. - 12/31/11
Jenny Rivera, Esq. (CUNY School of Law) - 12/31/11
Rudyard F. Whyte, Esq. (The Cochrane Firm) - 12/31/09

Bar Associations
Nelson Aviles, Esq. (Sweeny Gallo Reichon Bolz) - 12/31/11
Hector L. Santiago, Esq. - 12/31/09

Governor's Representative
Garry R. Connor, Esq. (Division of Housing & Community Renewal/DHCR)

Mayor's Representative
Joseph Rosenberg, Esq. (Department of Housing, Preservation & Development)