Christie Peale

CEO & Executive Director

Center for New York City Neighborhoods

Christie was named CEO & Executive Director of the Center in February 2012. Under her leadership, the Center has become a leading local and national voice for affordable homeownership, while significantly expanding its portfolio of services for homeowners. Christie has been instrumental in organizing foreclosure prevention services statewide with the New York Attorney General’s Office, raising millions of dollars for homeowners recovering from Hurricane Sandy, and launching a $7.5 million resiliency program for coastal communities. Christie also oversaw the expansion of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program with an $80 million loan fund and established one of the nation’s largest annual affordable homeownership conferences.

Most recently, Christie has led the organization in administering the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund (NYS HAF). NYS HAF program is being administered by the New York State affordable housing agency, NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR), in partnership with Sustainable Neighborhoods LLC, a non-profit dedicated to foreclosure prevention and homeownership preservation. NYS HAF is a federally-funded program designed to help homeowners at risk of default, foreclosure, and displacement as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected to provide assistance to over 30,000 homeowners throughout the state.

Before joining the Center, she worked in affordable housing preservation for the New York State Housing Finance Agency, and for affordable housing developers in Washington Heights and Bushwick. Christie serves on the Board of Directors for organizations that work to strengthen and promote permanently affordable homeownership opportunities, including Restored Homes, Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County, Community Partnership Development Corporation, Interboro Community Land Trust, NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program, Community Advisory Boards, Santander CAB, and PHH Mortgage Community Advisory Board. She also spent several years in healthcare advocacy for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the Medicare Rights Center, and the Women’s Prison Association. Christie has a B.A. from Harvard College and a Master of Social Work in Community Organizing and Planning from Hunter College.