Larry Hirschfield

Biography

Larry Hirschfield is the founder and sole owner of ELH Mgmt., a New York City-based firm specializing in affordable housing development, property management, and general contracting. With decades of experience in rehabilitating distressed properties and creating new affordable housing opportunities, Hirschfield has played a significant role in stabilizing and revitalizing neighborhoods throughout New York City.

Hirschfield began his professional career as a percussionist, recording in studios and touring with the New York City Opera and Broadway’s Les Misérables. During the 1980s, as New York City struggled with economic challenges and the need for affordable housing, he developed an interest in real estate. After listening to a radio program on homeownership, he took out a loan and purchased a deteriorating townhouse on Adelphi Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Personally contributing to its renovation, he restored the building’s historical detail and created rental units. Encouraged by the process, he expanded his efforts, purchasing and rehabilitating additional properties.

By the mid-1990s, Hirschfield transitioned fully into real estate development, focusing on larger-scale projects. He was selected as one of ten entrepreneurs in the inaugural round of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program (NEP). This initiative enabled small, locally-based developers to rehabilitate and manage city-owned buildings. Additionally, he was appointed as a 7A Administrator, assuming oversight of properties deemed hazardous to tenants.

Through his participation in NEP and other city programs, such as Third Party Transfer (TPT), Hirschfield spearheaded the rehabilitation of more than 100 physically and financially distressed apartment buildings throughout the mid-1990s and 2000s. His work contributed to improving housing quality and stabilizing communities that had suffered from long-term disinvestment.

Under Hirschfield’s leadership, ELH has expanded its role in supporting New York City’s housing initiatives. The firm has been instrumental in programs that promote the construction of affordable housing for the city’s workforce, preserve and rehabilitate existing low-to-moderate income housing, and convert city-owned multifamily properties into cooperatives for low- and moderate-income households. ELH also plays a role in the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program, which facilitates critical investments in the city’s public housing stock.

Beyond his work at ELH, Hirschfield serves on the boards of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) and the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH). He is also an associate member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and a licensed New York City real estate broker.

Hirschfield’s early exposure to architecture and historic preservation, influenced by his mother’s restoration of their 1854 landmarked brownstone, fostered his appreciation for the built environment and its impact on communities. He holds an Artist Diploma (AD) from the Mannes School of Music at The New School and received a BA at Columbia University. Though his career began in classical music, his dedication to affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization has made him a key figure in New York City’s housing sector.