Professor Been was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development by Mayor de Blasio in February 2014, and served in that role for three years. For over a decade prior to her appointment to the de Blasio Administration, Professor Been was the Faculty Director of the NYU Furman Center along with Professor Ellen. During that time the NYU Furman Center nearly tripled in size and received national recognition for its research on housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy, including a 2012 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions and the National Housing Conference's 2013 Empire Award for Leadership in Affordable Housing.



Professor Been also returns to her post as Boxer Family Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and is one of the nation’s leading experts on property law, land use, and housing law