Categories: New York City, Member News, Openings
05.08.2014
New residence houses 18 high-risk families in Queens
It was a celebratory day in Queens yesterday as Hour Children commemorated the grand opening of its third supportive housing residence.
Hour Children Apartment House III provides housing and services for 18 highly vulnerable families in the neighborhood of Long Island City. This pristine new residence houses 16 formerly homeless families through the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement and two low-income families from the community. As in all of its supportive housing residences, Hour Children placed an emphasis on housing formerly incarcerated mothers and their children with its new project. The residence first opened its doors late last year and has already begun to flourish as a home for some of our neediest families.
Yesterday’s ribbon-cutting was a festive, colorful affair marked by guest speeches, prayer, song and dance. The event began with introductory remarks from Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, the CNN Hero and Executive Director of Hour Children. Her remarks gave way to the National Anthem, as sung by students from VOICE Charter School. A pastor from the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer then led the many partners and friends of the residence in a brief prayer.
Many of the government partners that helped make Hour Children Apartment House III a reality were on hand to celebrate the day and give remarks. These included Brett Hebner of the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation (HHAC), Ray Hodges of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Greg Watson of NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer also spoke at the event.
The morning ceremony concluded with testimonials from tenants and a song and dance performed by the children at Hour Children’s Hour Early Learning Program.
Hour Apartment House III received capital development funding from OTDA, HPD, HCR and the Queens Borough President’s Office. Hour Children worked with Joseph Biber, Housing Consultant to help develop the residence. Enterprise Community Partners served as the tax credit syndicator.
The services offered to tenants at the residence are funded by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) through the NY/NY III Agreement, OTDA and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Edelman Sultan Knox Wood served as the architect for the building and Fazio Construction as the contractor.
We couldn’t be happier for Hour Children, the tenants at Hour Children Apartment House III and all the partners involved on this project. Together, they’ve created something truly special: a home for some of our most underserved families.
Photo: Children from the Hour Early Learning Program perform a song and dance at the ribbon-cutting for Hour Children Apartment House III. Photo by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).