Newton native Marc A. Slotnick, age 76, loving husband, father, grandfather and affordable housing expert, passed away on Saturday, October 6, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 54 years and Newton High School sweetheart Marsha Katz Slotnick, his loving daughters and sons-in-law Nancy Slotnick and Daniel Aferiat of Manhattan, Debbie and Larry Garner of Modi’in, Israel and Rebecca and Steven Shimshak of Needham. Papa Marc cherished his moments swimming, sledding and playing miniature golf with his six grandchildren Eitan, Avishai, Naomi of Modi’in, Joshua of Manhattan and Zoe and Isabella of Needham. Marc was the son of Celia Pearl (Strock) and Aaron Slotnick.
Marc was a graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law. A man of integrity and the highest ethical standards, Marc began his housing career as the Founding Executive Director of the Newton Community Development Foundation (NCDF) hoping to bring much needed low and moderate income housing to Newton. As Director and later Board Member, Marc served NCDF for 23 years.
Marc’s real estate development career began in 1972 with the formation of New England Communities, Inc. (NECI) which developed or redeveloped over 750,000 square feet of rental properties and residential and industrial condominiums in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
In 1992, the passion to keep serving those in need coupled with his expertise in development led Marc to 15 years of public service as the Associate Director of the Department of Communities and Development (DHCD). Throughout those years, Marc won numerous awards for his creative planning, design, development, financing and construction of affordable housing for frail elders, homeless households and Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
Resuming the Presidency of NECI in 2007, Marc took a groundbreaking approach to leveraging state and federal financing for affordable housing. His company, New England Communities, Inc., was the developer of Malden’s Salem Towers, an 80-unit apartment building for the elderly built in 1964 that completed a $17 million redevelopment under his guidance. Marc obtained an unprecedented award of Section 8 Enhanced Vouchers to use during construction and combined them with an equally unprecedented HUD waiver permitting converting them to project based Section 8 vouchers which insured the tenants would have affordable rents during project operations. Salem Towers was the first in the nation to secure vouchers using this waiver established in 2008 under a new Appropriations Act provision for pre-1974 Section 202 elderly developments. These achievements resulted in Salem Towers receiving the Charles E. Edson Award of Excellence as the best tax credit project in the country in 2011 that was constructed for the elderly. It was presented to NECI and Beth Israel Senior Citizens Housing, Inc. in a ceremony in the Capitol Building by Senator Scott Brown and then Congressman now Senator Edward Markey.
Other recent projects which Marc developed include Malden’s Cedar House as well as Newton’s Hasseltine House offering supportive housing for adults with mild to moderate developmental disabilities. Most recently, Marc helped form the non-profit Metro North Housing Corporation to house chronically homeless people with disabilities in Malden and was a consultant to Bread of Life Food Pantry on renovation of their facility with the potential expansion for housing for the homeless.
Marc served on numerous boards including the Combined Jewish Philanthropies Committee on Disabilities, Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly, Temple Emanuel of Newton, New England Chapter of the New York University Law Alumni Association, Harvard Alumni Association, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation and Massachusetts Government Land Bank. He was Harvard College Class of 1964 Treasurer and Harvard College Fund Class Participation Chairman since 1976 earning the Joseph R. Hamlen ’04 Award three times (1989, 2009, 2014) given by Harvard College Fund for leading a record setting (88.8%) participation drive in a 25th reunion, a Harvard and Ivy League record, and for subsequent fundraising achievements.
Marc was the recipient of numerous awards for his public housing efforts including the 2006 Executive Achievement Award for a member of the state administration for excellence in public service from the Massachusetts Association of Jewish Federations and the Jewish Community Relations Council. In 2000, Marc became the first state official to receive a Distinguished Service Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials for “relentless perseverance in pursing the preservation and improvement of state aided public housing for low income elderly, families, and disabled citizens of the Commonwealth.”
Marc, a devoted meditator, was a founding Director in 1988 of Dr. Herbert Benson’s Mind/Body Medical Institute (M/BMI) and was its Treasurer. The Institute eventually became the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Throughout his travels, Marc was a mentor, negotiator, mediator and consensus builder with a compassionate heart and incredible creative problem solving skills. A father of three daughters, Marc was known for challenging gender norms most notably when he crossed out “Room Mother” at Zervas Elementary School in the 1970’s and revised it to read “Room Parent” and annually dressed up as Mickey Mouse at Halloween. Mickey subsequently joined Purim services at synagogue, birthdays, weddings and other events over the past 40 years to bring pleasure to those he loved. He was often quoted saying “people vote with their feet” and in all aspects of his life - from helping those in need to advocating for those without a voice to cherishing family - Marc surely did vote with his feet all the days of his life. Marc died peacefully with his family at his side at Massachusetts General Hospital after enduring a year long rare form of Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma.
Funeral services will be held at Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 10:30am. Burial in the Koretz Cemetery, 776 Baker Street, West Roxbury.
Shiva begins in the Club House at the Gables, 407 Dedham Street, Newton on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings 7–9pm (7:30pm minyan) ...
Also, at the Slotnick Residence, 405E Dedham Street, Newton on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
7–11am (7am minyan) and 1–4pm ...
Continuing at the Shimshak Residence, 94 Hawthorn Avenue, Needham on Saturday evening 7:30–9pm (7:30pm minyan) and Sunday 9-11am (9am minyan), 1–4pm and 6–8pm (7pm minyan)
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hebrew SeniorLife Hospice Care, 1200 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131, Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA 02459 or Bread of Life Food Pantry, 54 Eastern Avenue, Malden, MA 02148.
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