Newsfeed Category: New York City

Utica Place Brightens Brooklyn

Nov.18.2014

Cutting the ribbon at Utica Place, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Jericho Project is proud to announce the opening of beautiful new Utica Place affordable housing development for low income families and U.S. veterans.  The development includes two buildings: a spacious 12-story affordable rental building with a roof garden and a four-story commercial building that has community space, a church, and a daycare center.

Franklin Avenue Residence Ribbon Cutting

Nov.06.2014

President and CEO of Lower Eastside Service Center Valerie C. Walters cuts the ribbon.

Lower Eastside Service Center (LESC) recently celebrated the opening of Franklin Avenue Residence, a beautiful new supportive housing residence in the Morrisania neighborhood in the Bronx, with 71 units of permanent housing for formerly homeless individuals as well as 27 studio apartments for low-income individuals from the community.

Speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony included LESC’s President & CEO Valerie C. Walters, as well as Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner and CEO of NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and Vicki Been, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

Commissioner Been, the Network’s 2014 Government Partner of the Year, said “the de Blasio Administration’s Housing New York plan made a commitment to assist homeless individuals and families by providing opportunities for permanent housing. I would like to thank the Lower Eastside Service Center for doing so much to provide a much needed life-line for individuals seeking permanent housing solutions.”

ACMH Hosts Ribbon Cuttings for TWO New NYC Residences

Oct.08.2014

ACMH hosts ribbon cuttings at East 144 Street Residence in the South Bronx (left) and at Markus Gardens in Jamaica, Queens (photo credits courtesy of ACMH).

ACMH opened TWO supportive housing residences in September: the East 144th Street Residence in the South Bronx and Markus Gardens in Jamaica, Queens. The residences are part of NY/NY III and provide housing to a mix of individuals struggling with homelessness and behavioral health challenges and very low-income people from the neighborhood. And both offer housing options to young adults coming from institutional settings. Both openings also put tenants front and center quite literally. At both ceremonies it was tenants who stole the show at the podium and who held the classic giant scissors.  

First came the South Bronx opening, September 12th -- some fifty well-wishers and partners gathered on a gloriously sunny afternoon to celebrate the completion of a new residence that will provide 42 apartments for adults and young adults with special needs and 18 apartments for individuals and families from the community (at 30-40% of AMI).

ACMH CEO and master of ceremonies Dan Johansson gave effusive praise to the teams who played a part – the team of housing staff at OMH; the team of housing specialists at Homes and Community Renewal; the teams at Bank of America, at the Bronx Borough President’s office, at Harden Van Arnam Architects and at Mega Contracting. Also celebrated were partners Richman Housing and Deutsche Bank. The Network too got a mention (thank you, Dan).

NPR Reports on New York State’s Ground-Breaking Use of Medicaid Dollars to Create Supportive Housing

Aug.04.2014

NPR aired an inspiring and informative story on July 28, 2014 profiling Lissette Encarnacion’s path from chronic homelessness into supportive housing in Common Ground’s residence, The Brook, financed in part with State Medicaid funds.

Reported by Amanda Aronczyk of WNYC, the piece features interview segments with New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson, and Brenda Rosen, Executive Director of Common Ground (and a Network Board Member).

Aronczyk also focused attention on supportive housing in her WNYC stories from June 4, 2014 “Take This Apartment and Call Me in the Morning” and “Supportive Housing as Healthcare.”

Read the transcript of the July 28, 2014 NPR story here.

John Tynan to Retire After Four Decades at Catholic Charities

Jun.19.2014

After more than 40 years of service in the name of New York City’s most vulnerable, John Tynan has announced he will retire from Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, his home since 1973.

Mr. Tynan has led the development of 44 affordable, senior and supportive housing residences during his celebrated career. As Executive Director of the Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation (CCPOP), the affordable housing developer of Catholic Charities, Mr. Tynan is responsible for roughly 10% of all senior housing in New York City.

His last day in the office will be July 3. He leaves behind a sterling legacy as a forefather in the fight to expand access to affordable housing for vulnerable populations in New York City.

“Housing really takes an army of people to develop; it was nice to be part of that ‘army’ for so many years,” Mr. Tynan said. “I am very proud of all my former CCPOP staff that have gone on to serve this city on the larger scale, such as Roseanne Haggerty, founder of Common Ground and President and CEO of Community Solutions; Connie Tempel, the Chief Operating Officer of CSH; Cindy Holler, the President of Mercy Housing Lakefront; Bill Traylor, President of Richman Housing Resources; Paul Freitag, Managing Director of Rose Development; Jerry Mascuch, Vice President of FEGS Housing and Property Development; Susan Albrecht, Executive Director of Association of New York Catholic Homes; Cathy Herman, Director of Housing at Goddard Riverside Community Center; Ariel Krasnow of West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing; Michelle Beaman, Project Manager of AHC Inc. and Shai Gross of Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. I am very happy to have served the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and I look forward to seeing what great things are to come from Catholic Charities in the future.”

Youth Supportive Housing Residence Opens in Manhattan

Jun.18.2014

The fight to end homelessness in New York got a boost yesterday with the grand opening of a new supportive housing residence in lower Manhattan.

A gut-renovated, five-story residence developed by Phipps Houses, this building provides housing and support services to 44 very needy households. Once rent-up is complete, the residence will house formerly homeless young adults, formerly homeless young families and low-income members of the community.

Tenants  have access to an array of on-site services provided by Network member The Door. Services will include job training, High School Equivalency (formerly “GED”) classes, health care, counseling, legal support and childcare support. The building will also include a 10,000 square-foot community center operated by Loisaida, Inc.

Yesterday’s opening included brief remarks from NYC Council Member Rosie Mendez and NYC Department of Housing Preservation Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been as well as Michael Zisser, CEO of project partner University Settlement, and Raul Russi, CEO of Acacia Network, Loisaida's parent company.

Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing Launches at NYC Hall

Jun.09.2014

The crowd at the launch of Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing on May 28. Photo by Coalition for the Homeless.

The Network joined a crowd of more than 150 advocates on May 28 for the launch of Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing, a grassroots initiative to call on lawmakers to create a new New York/New York Supportive Housing Agreement.

This new coalition is urging Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to negotiate a City-State agreement to create 30,000 units of supportive housing over the next 10 years. To date, more than 150 organizations have signed on to the campaign’s platform. You can endorse the campaign by following this link. The Network is proud to have helped launch this campaign with such organizations as Coalition for the Homeless, CSH, Enterprise Community Partners and many, many others.

You can learn more about the Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing by reading these press highlights in Capital New York, New York Observer and The Real Deal.

Scott Stringer, Letitia James to Join Network Conference

Jun.03.2014

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and NYC Public Advocate Letitia James will deliver remarks at the closing cocktail reception of the 14th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference on Thursday, June 5.

We’re thrilled to announce two just-added special guests for the 14th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference this Thursday. Joining us to celebrate the day will be NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and NYC Public Advocate Letitia James. Both elected officials will appear at our conference cocktail reception, which kicks off at 5:00pm after a full day of workshops, on the 9th floor of the New York Marriott Marquis.

Online registration for the conference is now closed, but those interested in attending can still register by fax or email until Wednesday, June 4 at noon. If you haven’t registered yet, we urge you to do so before Wednesday!

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer is no stranger to our supportive housing conference. During his previous post as Manhattan Borough President and as a member of the NYS Assembly, Mr. Stringer made multiple appearances at our signature annual event. He will deliver brief remarks at the reception this Thursday to cap off the largest supportive housing conference in the nation.

Ms. James, New York City’s Public Advocate, will also speak and mingle at the conference cocktail reception. Ms. James was elected Public Advocate last year after fighting for affordable housing and economic justice in the City Council for 10 years. She will be making her conference debut with us this Thursday.

Advocacy Alert: Join NYC Supportive Housing Rally this Thursday

May.27.2014

The Network will join a diverse group of advocates this Thursday for a rally in support of a new supportive housing agreement between New York City and State.

Our staff will stand alongside others for the formal launch of Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing, a new initiative to advocate for a successor to the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement. We urge you to join this event. The rally will take place on Thursday, May 29 at 11:00am on the steps outside New York City Hall.

Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing is calling on Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to negotiate a new City-State agreement to create 30,000 units of supportive housing for individuals and families with special needs over the next 10 years. To date, more than 130 organizations have signed on to the campaign’s platform. You can endorse the campaign by following this link.

A new agreement would follow up three successful agreements before it: NY/NY I in 1990, NY/NY II in 1999 and NY/NY III in 2005. With NY/NY III on track to complete all 9,000 units of supportive housing in just over 10 years, it’s imperative that the City and State create a new agreement to fund supportive housing. A new agreement would also serve as an essential tool in ending New York City’s current record levels of homelessness. Supportive housing has continually proven to be the most humane and cost-effective solution to ending homelessness for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

NYC Budget Includes Significant Supportive Housing Increase

May.12.2014

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio released his first executive budget on Thursday. The total budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year is $73.9 billion dollars, providing significant funding to support many of the progressive plans the administration has laid out in its first few months. Notably, the budget includes $2.5 billion in capital funds over four years for the mayor’s new “Housing New York” plan to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over ten years. In his budget address, Mayor de Blasio specifically cited supportive housing as one of the tools that the City will use to reduce homelessness. Other highlights from the budget include: rental assistance for homeless families, capping HASA clients’ rent costs to no more than 30% of income and an increase in shelter beds for runaway and homeless youth.

“This executive budget proves that Mayor de Blasio is serious about solving New York City’s housing affordability crisis,” said Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. “The Mayor’s ambitious housing plan now has dollars attached to it. Placing $2.5 billion into the capital housing budget over the next four years will put us in a strong position to reach the mayor’s ten-year, 200,000-unit goal. I am particularly pleased by the budget’s plan to increase City capital funds for supportive housing development to over $100 million a year. This will fund the construction of thousands of units of permanent supportive housing for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including homeless individuals, families and seniors.”

More specifically, Mayor de Blasio’s budget includes the following: