The Bronx Chamber of Commerce convened the first Bronx Real Estate & Housing Agency Forum on Thursday, Aug. 13, in The Bronx, drawing 91 registrants, including Bronx property owners, managers and housing professionals, for a direct, practical exchange with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) on the rules that shape their work.
Chamber officials said the forum, a program of its Real Estate and Housing Policy Council (REHPC), far exceeded expectations for a mid-August program, organized on a compressed timeline, and reflected what they said was a strong demand among Bronx housing providers for direct access to the agencies that regulate them.
Lisa Sorin, president and CEO of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce said the owners and operators who maintain the Bronx’s housing are overwhelmingly small business/butterfield-fb-to-raise-rm72mil-from-ace-market-ipo-for-business-expansion/” title=”Butterfield FB to raise RM72mil from ACE Market IPO for business expansion”>businesses. “Giving them clear, direct access to the agencies they work with every day is exactly the kind of practical support the Chamber exists to provide,” she said.
“By bringing the Department of Buildings and HPD into the same room as our members, we are helping property owners get real answers and build stronger, more productive relationships with the agencies that regulate their businesses,” Sorin added.
Chamber officials said over the course of the morning, DOB and HPD representatives walked members through current procedures and answered questions submitted in advance on the issues Bronx housing providers encounter most often, including permitting and inspection timelines, gas-service restoration and Local Law 152 compliance. Also covered was the pace of violation clearance and the city’s enhanced-enforcement programs.
NYC Local Law 152 requires periodic inspections of exposed gas piping systems in most buildings across New York City’s five boroughsEnacted in 2016 to improve gas safety, the law mandates that building owners have their gas lines inspected by a licensed master plumber once every four years and file a certification thereafter
Chamber officials said after the presentations, agency staff remained for office hours and tabled, sharing reldings and circumstances directly
According to the New York State Comptroller, The Bronx is home to roughly 570,000 housing units, and about eight in ten Bronx households rent their homes, which is the highest share of any New York City borough
Chamber officials said owners and managers who maintain that housing are, in most cases, small businesses whose impact reaches well beyond their buildings. They said each occupied building sustains a wide network of local jobs and enterprises, including building staff and superintendents, plumbers, electricians, painters, carpenters, roofers and boiler and elevator technicians who keep buildings running.
They added that there are also the professional services housing depends on, from insurance brokers and attorneys to architects, engineers, accountants and property managers. They said when Bronx housing providers are stable, that entire ecosystem, and the livelihoods it supports, stays strong.
Chamber officials said it launched the Real Estate and Housing Policy Council in February 2026 to give the borough’s property owners, managers, developers and contractors a coordinated voice on the policies that shape their work. Thursday’s forum, moderated by Council members Sandra Erickson and Matt Engel, was the Council’s first public program.
Mackenzie Forsberg, co-founder and chief operating officer of Genesis Realty Group and chair of the Real Estate and Housing Policy Council, said of the event, “This is exactly what we set out to do when we formed the Council, create a focused, practical venue where the people who own, manage and build housing in this borough can work through the real operational issues with the agencies alongside them.”
Forsberg added, “The businesses I work with every day want to get compliance right, and the Bronx Chamber is helping to develop a direct line to the people who can help us do that.”
The forum also drew participation from elected offices at the State and City levels. State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34) and Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86) attended in person, and the offices of Council Members Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) and Justin Sanchez (C.D. 17) were represented by staff members, and heard directly from Bronx building owners and managers about the day-to-day realities of maintaining housing in what was described by Chamber officials as one of the most heavily regulated environments in the country.
Fernandez said Bronx housing providers are small businesses that keep Bronx neighborhoods stable, Bronx neighbors housed, and deserve a government that works with them, not around them. “I was glad to join this forum to hear directly from the owners and managers in our community about what they need to keep doing that work and to keep housing affordable,” the senator said.
For her part, Tapia said, “The people who own and operate housing across the Bronx carry real responsibility, and forums like this make it easier for them to navigate the rules and get answers directly from the agencies. I thank the Bronx Chamber for creating a space where industry and government can solve problems together.”
According to Chamber officials, the forum is the start of a sustained effort and it plans to offer follow-up virtual sessions with the agencies for Bronx Chamber members, and additional in-person forums, open to both members and prospective members. They said these are being planned to extend the same kind of direct access across the borough’s housing and development industries.
They added that the forum was made possible through funding from its sponsors, led by the New York Apartment Association, along with Diamond Property Group, Azimuth Development Group, Jerome Environmental Services, Chatham Management and Start Elevator.
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