Categories: New York City, Member News
06.19.2014
Organization developed 44 residences under his leadership
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.”
Mr. Tynan joined Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens when he was just 26 as a social worker. By 1979, Mr. Tynan and CCPOP cut the ribbon on Pierrepont House, Catholic Charities’ first affordable housing residence. The organization would open two more residences over the next year. All three projects housed – and continue to house – older adults.
Mr. Tynan hasn’t slowed down since. Under his watch, CCPOP has developed more than 3,600 apartments. Roughly 59% of these apartments house low-income seniors, 29% house families and 12% house formerly homeless individuals in supportive housing. Through Mr. Tynan’s leadership, CCPOP has developed low-income housing for 35 years in Brooklyn and Queens. Last year alone, the organization opened two new residences: the Peter J. Striano Residence in Howard Beach and the Msgr. Anthony J. Barretta Apartments in Ocean Hill.
CCPOP also operates over a dozen scattered-site and congregate supportive housing programs thanks to Mr. Tynan’s leadership. The organization opened its first supportive housing residence in 1986, when the model was still in its infancy. That residence, Our Lady of Good Counsel, offers housing and services to 76 formerly homeless and low-income individuals in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Most recently, Catholic Charities, through the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), launched a scattered-site supportive housing program to house high-cost Medicaid users who have mental illness. The supportive housing developed by Mr. Tynan has bettered the lives of individuals with HIV/AIDS, seniors, people with mental illness and other formerly homeless individuals.
Mr. Tynan remains active on many boards and has chaired the national Catholic Charities Housing Committee for 15 years. He has received numerous awards for his decades of housing development, including the Community Renaissance Award from Enterprise Community Partners in 2010.
Upon retirement, he plans to spend as much time as he can with his grandchildren.
We stand in awe of Mr. Tynan’s enormous achievements over his more than 40-year career. Because of his work, thousands of at-risk New Yorkers have enjoyed the stability and safety of permanent housing.