Biden HUD Nominee Works to Preserve Affordable Housing Despite Renting Multimillion-Dollar Townhouse

Elizabeth de Leon Bhargava, nominated by President Joe Biden to be Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), collects rent above the average rate from a multimillion-dollar townhouse in Manhattan, New York, while claiming to have worked throughout her career to preserve affordable housing and fight against housing discrimination.

Biden announced his nomination of de Leon Bhargava, putting her in the public eye. De Leon Bhargava’s nomination biography from the Biden administration indicated that she was the first Latina to hold the position of New York State Deputy Secretary for Labor & Workforce, where she “impacted” 9.6 million working Americans by being an “integral” part of raising New York’s minimum wage to $15 hourly.

Additionally, the biography attributed de Leon Bhargava with leading investigations and prosecutions to ensure the preservation of affordable housing while working for the New York State Office of the Attorney General. She “led investigations and prosecutions ensuring the preservation of civil rights and affordable housing, protecting survivors of human trafficking, and supporting communities impacted by immigration fraud.”

De Leon Bhargava, in February 2014, made a statement when she was being announced as the first deputy chief of staff for the New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D), lauding the work she did throughout her career to fighting housing discrimination.

“I am thrilled … to build affordable housing, close the income inequality gap and deliver fully-paid universal pre-k for all New Yorkers,” she said. “Throughout my career working with New York’s immigrant communities, in labor and employment, with consumers and fighting housing discrimination.”

However, during her confirmation hearing Tuesday, in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, de Leon Bhargava could not explain to Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) how she would solve the current growing homeless crisis facing cities such as San Francisco, California.

During the nearly four minutes of questioning, Kennedy asked the Biden nominee various questions regarding the homeless population in the United States, especially San Francisco, where it has become a beacon for the homeless population. De Leon Bhargava pushed off the question, saying HUD, where she would eventually be working if confirmed, needs “sufficient staff” to work with the programming.

When pressed by Kennedy, the de Leon Bhargava was unable to give specific details on how she would handle the homelessness, besides blaming the staff.

Watch:

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

San Francisco Bay Area reportedly has 7.8 million people, but more than 35,000 people were considered homeless leading up to the pandemic. The homeless were either sleeping on the streets, in cars, or temporary shelters, with the majority (70 percent) considered to be “unsheltered.” The report added that within the city of San Francisco, there are more than 5,000 unsheltered homeless persons living among the city with 875,000 residents.

Despite de Leon Bhargava’s purported commitment to affordable housing, she owns a multimillion-dollar townhouse in Manhattan that she rents out above Manhattan’s average rental price. According to the New York City Department of Finance Office of the Register, she purchased the multimillion-dollar townhouse for $2.8 Million in 2018. According to Zillow’s estimate, the townhouse is now worth roughly $3.1 million.

De Leon Bhargava’s Public Financial Disclosure report indicates that she rents out part of her Manhattan townhouse at a reported range of $50,000 to $100,000 per year. Financial Disclosure reports only require a monetary range and not the exact dollar amount. However, this means the Biden nominee rents out her Manhattan townhouse at a minimum of 4,166 a month and as high as $8,333 per month.

In addition, Curbed New York showed in July 2018 explained that a typical renovated apartment in Hamilton Heights range from $2,400 to $4,000 a month depending on bedrooms:

“It’s affordable,” says Azaria. “It’s not overpriced.” In Hamilton Heights, a typical renovated one bedroom runs about $2,400; two-bedroom apartments go for around $3,000/month, per Azaria, and three- or four-bedrooms run around $4,000/month.

But you can find cheaper listings on StreetEasy: There are one-bedrooms around $1,600/month, and there are some three-bedrooms going for around $2,500/month.

More recently, a July 2021 Elliman Report showed that the median rental price in Northern Manhattan is $2,250 per month, which appears to be double her minimum monthly rental income would be. While it appears that de Leon Bhargava’s career might be to preserve affordable housing in her personal life, she does the exact opposite.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.