New York Apartment Association’s New CEO Kenny Burgos

Kenny Burgos likes to build things.

At his home in the Bronx, he built his deck, the fence around his yard, and his newborn son’s nursery.

As a state lawmaker, he built bridges within his community and enacted policy to help his constituents.

And now, the dynamic 30-year-old CEO of the newly formed New York Apartment Association (NYAA) wants to build better housing in New York City.

“I like creating things and seeing them to completion,” Burgos said. “What we do in the next 12 to 18 months can have massive impacts on the next three to four decades in this state.”

He knows he cannot do this alone. Nor will the path forward be an easy one.

But he feels equal to the task.

“I like to see a project from its infancy, and then take a few steps back and realize what we’ve made it into, what we’ve accomplished” he said. “Here at NYAA … [we have] unlimited potential for what we can accomplish.” 

An Entrepreneur…

Burgos grew up in the Bronx. The only son of divorced parents, he split his time with his mother and his younger half-sister in an apartment on the west side, and his father, older stepsister and younger half-sister in their single-family home on the east side.

His dual household shaped a lot of his vision of the world, he said.

“[It] may sound like just a small difference, but being in a different zip code, being in a different kind of housing, I recognize what those experiences are,” he said. “How their world was shaped, what their experience was, the schools that they went to, the food options available to them.”

His father was an entrepreneur and small business owner. His mother worked for Verizon for 32 years before she retired earlier this year. When it came to choosing his own path, he initially followed in his father’s footsteps, opening a small business shortly after graduating Cum Laude from University of Albany, SUNY.

While operating his business, he got an internship with the New York City Council, and found himself enjoying politics, despite growing up with apolitical parents. 

“If you want to influence the place you live in beyond being a small business owner, not just to create better small business policy but to shape your entire community, it's politics,” he said.

He ran for office in 2020 and was elected to the state assembly. He has always looked at the world through a policy lens, especially when traveling, and this path seemed like a way he could build something lasting.

…A Politician

As a state lawmaker, he was struck with the thought that anything imagined could be wrought into existence with patience, persistence and perseverance.

“It may take a month. It may take 10 years. But you can make that happen in a democracy like America,” he said. “I always love going to a new place and analyzing the people who live there and [seeing] how their local government decided to shape their neighborhood. It expands your mind into the opportunities that we can have here. When you put it into that perspective, you truly can imagine anything is possible.”

He enjoyed representing his community in the Bronx, learning about the issues people were dealing with and working toward solutions. And he found one of the most pressing conversations at any time was housing.

He said he was constantly surprised by how little policymakers know about the real estate industry and housing, considering how critical it is to the entire landscape of New York and a person’s life. 

“Not everyone is a developer, not everyone is a broker,” he added. “Specifically for rent-stabilized housing providers, it is a very unique experience and very different from everyone else operating in the real estate world.”

He said the problem he encounters is that it's not even a disagreement on politics, but a lack of education, and a historical perception of conflict.

“There's been this line drawn in the sand between renters and property owners that makes it incredibly difficult to have a fruitful conversation towards better housing policy that can be beneficial for both sides,” he added. “So to me, that's where we begin.”

When the opportunity arose to head the newly formed NYAA, which was formed from a merger between the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Rent Stabilization Association, he decided to take the chance to become an expert.

“The good news is, there is so much to learn.”

A New Generation

Burgos is part of a growing cohort of a younger generation stepping up to make a difference in the world.

“When I was first elected, I was the second youngest elected in the entire state at the time,” he mused. “Most of the responses I got … was that it was a welcome change. They were hopeful that having a younger leader would inspire other younger people to be more involved in government, in civics, and in their city.”

Although NYAA is still in its infancy, he already sees this happening with the large multigenerational membership of the organization, especially the younger generation stepping into the businesses started by their parents or grandparents.

“They recognize what a pivotal moment it is for them to lead their family's business,” he said. “They recognize how important the work they do is, where they're helping to shape the landscape and the experience of living in this city.”

The immediacy and necessity of this really hit home when Burgos and his wife welcomed their first child, a son, into the world earlier this year.

“Everything I do now is with him in mind,” he said. “That goes for the work I do here.

“I never plan to leave New York. I love this place. I've been here my entire life, and I would assume that means my son will be coming of age in New York, will at some point, have to find housing in New York and create and chart a life for himself. I can do everything I can for him, but I have to make sure that the environment is set as best as possible.”

And thus the work begins.

“We influence the world on so many layers,” Burgos said. “To lead an organization of this size and magnitude is both an honor and an exciting challenge. There's so much to be done and there's so much to look forward to in the future if we get this right.”