Newsfeed Category: New York City

Tribute to Gina Quattrochi

Jan.18.2017

Gina Quattrochi, Bailey House CEO and lifelong HIV/AIDS advocate, passed away December 13, 2016 from complications due to cancer. During the 25 years she led Bailey House, Ms. Quattrochi played a key role in transforming the organization into an innovative leader in HIV/AIDS care and supportive housing.

Is Selling Air Rights a Viable Option for Your Nonprofit?

Jan.10.2017

Breaking Ground's Prince George supportive housing residence.

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Inclusionary Housing Program (IHP) preserves affordable housing in neighborhoods where there have been zoning changes to encourage new development. The IHP consists of two programs:

Voluntary Inclusionary Housing Program (VIHP), enacted in 1987, enables a development to receive a density bonus in return for new construction, substantial rehabilitation, or preservation of permanently affordable housing.

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program (MIHP), enacted in March 2016, requires a share of new housing in medium- and high-density areas that are rezoned to promote new housing production—whether rezoned as part of a city neighborhood plan or a private rezoning application—to be permanently affordable.  

Press Conference Announces Task Force Recommendations for Mayor’s NYC 15/15 Initiative

Dec.15.2016

On December 12th, the Mayor’s Office held a press conference at Breaking Ground’s The Schermerhorn announcing the recommendations of the Supportive Housing Task Force and awards to 11 organizations to provide 550 new scattered site supportive housing units as part of the NYC 15/15 Initiative, his commitment to creating 15,000 units of supportive housing over the next fifteen years.

NYC Programs Help Buildings Go Green

Nov.18.2016

Volunteers of America's Creston Avenue residence is considered "ultra-green."

The City of New York has several green building programs that will help with the City’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels (80x50). These programs support tenants, superintendents, building owners and decision-makers from every demographic and nearly all building sizes to make building improvements to reduce GHG emissions while generating cost savings and preserving affordability. Taken together, these programs are now working with owners and decision-makers of more than 3,800 buildings representing more than 8 percent of the built square footage across New York City, and these numbers continue to grow. To get started, contact the NYC Retrofit Accelerator. Their experts will connect you to the resources and program like the ones below that make sense for your building and support you throughout your energy or water retrofit.

165th Street Residence Opens

Sep.28.2016

Cutting the ribbon at 165th Street residence.

PSCH staff, partners and government notables joined in the celebration of the opening of PSCH’s newest supportive housing project, 165th Street Residence September 13th. The new apartment building provides 58 beautiful new apartments to a mix of formerly homeless individuals and low-income families from the community.

Webster Green Groundbreaking

Aug.16.2016

George McDonald, President of The Doe Fund, and dignitaries at the Webster Green groundbreaking.

On July 19th, The Doe Fund held a groundbreaking for Webster Green: a new 82-unit permanent supportive and affordable housing residence in the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx. The project is a partnership between the Doe Fund and private developer Robert Sanborn Development. Currently a hole in the ground, Webster Green will provide 41 studio apartments for individuals with health-related issues and 41 affordable units for low-income individuals from the community. Magnusson Architecture and Planning is designing the LEED-certified, eight story residence which will include an outdoor common area, community room and laundry facilities as well as space for on-site services. The residence has been designed by Magnusson Architecture, and the general contractor is Galaxy Construction.

Capitol Hall Renovation

Aug.15.2016

Cutting the ribbon at the renovation ceremony.

On May 24th, Goddard Riverside celebrated the renovation of their Capitol Hall residence. One of the very first supportive housing residences in NYC, Capitol Hall was opened initially in 1983. Back then, plans were afoot to convert the decaying SRO into luxury housing, when a group of neighbors on the Upper West Side got together and took a stand in support of preserving affordable housing for their low-income neighbors. The building now houses 200 people including those who have been homeless and those were at risk of becoming homeless.

BHC’s Founder Reflects on the Development of Her Vision for Ending Homelessness

Aug.02.2016

Tenants gathered in front of the building that would become their new home and BHC's fifth development, The Rio, at 10 Ft. Washington Avenue, during the renovation process that created 75 studios and 7 family apartments, circa 1989. (Ms. Baxter is in the red sweater).

On July 1, 2016 the life and work of Ellen Baxter, Founder and CEO of Broadway Housing Communities, were featured on NPR’s Invisibilia in an episode by reporter Lulu Miller, who introduced the episode by discussing her family’s experience with mental illness.  Just as Miller discussed the challenges in having a mentally-ill older sister, so did Ms. Baxter discuss similar experiences growing up with a mother living with mental illness and addictions.

Connie Tempel Retires from CSH

Jul.22.2016

Sara and Connie -- passing the torch!

Connie Tempel – one of the godmothers of supportive housing and a mainstay of the movement in New York City for the last twenty five years -- is retiring as Chief Operating Officer for CSH today. Ms. Tempel has made an enormous impact on our movement, including what she deems one of her proudest achievements, being present at the first meeting of the SRO Providers Group (the Network’s name for most of its early life) and co-chairing the group early in its existence. Ms. Tempel was a major force behind convincing the New York State Office of Mental Health to embrace supportive housing as an intervention to end chronic homelessness and laid the foundation for what would eventually become known as the NY/NY agreements. Another of Ms. Tempel’s game-changing achievements was shepherding the nine-year process of proving supportive housing’s cost effectiveness in what has become known as the gold standard of cost-benefit analyses, the University of Pennsylvania’s 2001 report known in shorthand as the Culhane Report.

Paul Gualano Tribute

Jul.15.2016

Paul Gualano of CUCS.

The Network joins the Center for Urban Community Services in mourning the loss of CUCS’ long-time Chief Operating Officer, Paul Gualano, who passed away on July 9, 2016. He was a pillar of the supportive housing community who touched the lives of tenants, co-workers, and colleagues from other organizations within our community.