Remembering Lisa Blecker

It is with deep sadness that we announce the untimely death of CHPC Executive Committee member and Secretary, Lisa Blecker. Lisa passed away in a horseback riding accident. She was 61 years old.

Lisa was a unique CHPC board member. Not a typical part of the affordable housing landscape in NYC, Lisa was Marketing Director of Resource Furniture when she reached out to CHPC in 2012 to offer help with our Making Room initiative, advocating for micro-units and shared housing. She immediately understood CHPC’s mission and developed a huge passion for our work and our team. She became the lead sponsor of our first big exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, where she spearheaded the development of a micro-unit in the middle of the exhibition. The exhibit had over 150,000 visitors and advanced real change in NYC’s Zoning Resolution. She went on to secure an exhibition at the National Building Museum in DC for us where she spent months overseeing the construction of a flexible shared housing model that promoted our work on alternative housing typologies on the national stage.

Even after leaving her position at Resource Furniture, Lisa remained committed to CHPC, serving as our Secretary and in-house marketing consultant. She volunteered hundreds of hours this summer and fall to refresh the communication infrastructure of our office. She was designing the swag for our End of Year Party just last week.

Lisa was a remarkable, rare soul. She was startlingly sincere and warm, deeply thoughtful and caring, and so funny and fun. She had a huge personality and lust for life that lit up any room she walked into. She was a devoted partner, mother, and friend.

Lisa’s full obituary can be accessed here.