Welcome to the May 2015 issue of Network News, the Supportive Housing Network of New York's monthly e-newsletter. You'll find lead articles on the Mayor's budget, residence openings in Poughkeepsie and East Harlem, and the Governor's Blueprint to End AIDS. Thanks for reading!
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On Thursday May 7, the Mayor released the FY 2016 Executive budget totaling $78.3 billion, and the Ten-Year Capital Strategy, totaling $83.8 billion. The expense budget increases funding to protect the City's most vulnerable with $54 million on increased mental health services in shelters, schools and jails; $100 million on increased homelessness prevention and assistance; $2.5 million for the Family Eviction Prevention Supplement (FEPS) program; and $10.5 million for a new Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program that will
provide assistance to 1,250 households that are either currently residing in shelter or are chronically street homeless.
The Network is pleased to see a record $200 million in capital funds in FY 2016 designated for supportive housing in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development's (HPD's) budget. The out-year budget (FY 2016-FY 2019) includes $791 million to create or preserve approximately 7,900 special needs units.
Within the next few days, the Network will release a more detailed analysis of the budget. In the meantime, we would like to thank the City for their continued support of supportive housing, a proven solution to homelessness.
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Martin McCarthy Passes Away
One of the founders of the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
Martin McCarthy, one of the founders of the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, the beloved husband of WSFSSH Executive Director Laura Jervis, and one of the key people who helped create the supportive housing movement passed away on April 18, 2015. Mr. McCarthy's life and fifty year career as a lawyer were celebrated at a memorial Mass on April 24 in which hundreds of members of the supportive housing community came out to mourn his loss, sing his praises and remember a life exceptionally well-lived. Mr. McCarthy used his deep knowledge of the tax code and especially Low Income Housing Tax Credits to help the pioneers of supportive housing develop some of the early residences and in all helped develop more than 7,000 units of affordable and supportive housing. This included all twenty-four WSFSSH buildings, touchingly read in "birth order" at the service.
"The entire WSFSSH family deeply mourns Martin's passing. Not only did he shepherd each of our deals, he also was always there for us individually if we ever needed legal help of any kind. He always had our back. We will sorely miss him," said Laura Tavormina, Deputy Director of WSHFSH.
The Network extends its deepest condolences to Ms. Jervis, their family and the WSFSSH community.
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Last week,
Governor Andrew Cuomo released a blueprint to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State by 2020:
2015 Blueprint - Ending AIDS. The taskforce's blueprint offers 30 recommendations on how to support the Governor's plan to reduce new HIV infections and improve the health of all HIV infected New Yorkers by: 1) identifying people with HIV and linking them to health care, 2) getting HIV patients on anti-HIV therapy, and 3) providing access to pre-exposure prevention measures for high risk individuals. The goal of the plan is to reduce new HIV infections from 3,000 to 750 and reduce by 50% the rate at which persons diagnosed with HIV progress to AIDS by 2020.
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Highridge Gardens Opens in Poughkeepsie
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| Highridge Gardens in Poughkeepsie |
On April 17th,
Rehabilitation Support Services (RSS), Inc. held a ribbon-cutting in Poughkeepsie for Highridge Gardens, a 50 unit supportive housing project. This newly constructed building represents a double "first": it is the first congregate supportive housing project built by RSS, a Network member with a long history of providing mental health housing,
and the very first single-site supportive housing in the entire Capital Region, between Saratoga and Westchester Counties.
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A Spectacular Opening for the Lantern Group's Prospero Hall
A new supportive housing residence opens in East
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| Cutting the ribbon at the Lantern Group's Prospero Hall |
On a stunning spring day, May 7th, the Lantern Group cut the ribbon on beautiful new Prospero Hall residence in East Harlem, an 87-unit 6-story newly constructed affordable/supportive housing project that is now home to 54 formerly homeless special needs individuals and 32 low-income individuals from the community (with priority given to chronically homeless veterans). The residence features an outdoor garden, and preserves the adjacent community garden, The Magic Garden.
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Architects Gather to Discuss the Importance of Design in Creating Supportive Housing
A full house at an event with the American Institute of Architects
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The panel and audience at AIA
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The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is joining the lively conversation about the importance of design in supportive housing. The AIA's Housing Committee is currently led by Fernando Villa, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, and Peter Bafitis, AIA. Bafitis is principal of the New York architecture firm RKTB and Villa is principal of New York-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP).
The AIA convened a standing-room-only panel conversation on architecture and supportive housing titled
Supportive Housing: Buildings Rebuilding Lives at the Center for Architecture on April 14
th that attracted over 200 people. The panel featured presentations (all available on our website via the links here) by AIA Fellow
Elissa Winzelberg, Director of Design and Construction at Common Ground;
Jonathan Kirschenfeld, founder of the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA);
Emily Lehman, Deputy Director, Special Needs Housing, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD); and
Derek Kelly, resident of the Fortune Society's Castle Gardens in West Harlem.
Nicole Branca, Deputy Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York moderated.
Mr. Kelly spoke movingly about how the design of Castle Gardens supports his life, especially the beauty and solitude of the roof deck, where residents can go to relax and take a break from the frenzy of the city. Ms. Winzelberg spoke of Common Ground's long history of designing supportive housing with residents' healing and community acceptance in mind. Mr. Kirschenfeld gave a brief history of the dawn of supportive housing, and gave context to the myriad forces that drove the homelessness crisis. Ms. Lehman spoke about the City's ongoing commitment to supportive housing and their partnership with architects and developers to create beautiful buildings and Ms. Branca concluded the conversation by urging that architects see every aspect of the building design as a opportunity to recreate community for those that have lost everything. The Network would like to thank the AIA and Fernando Villa and Peter Bafitis for hosting this event. The Network will be hosting a similar conversation on the importance of design at our Supportive Housing Conference June 4th.
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OTDA Releases HHAP RFP
$63.5 million in funding available
 The NYS Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance (OTDA) released the SFY 2015-16 Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) Request for Proposals (RFP) for grants or loans to acquire, construct or rehabilitate housing to expand the supply of housing for low-income persons who are, or would otherwise be, homeless. $63.5 million is available, of which $5 million may be reserved for the development of projects serving homeless persons with HIV/AIDS. HHAC may also make available additional funding under the HHAP RFP through the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) initiative. The amount of MRT funding available, if any, will be announced when the MRT allocations are finalized.
The RFP awards extra points to projects serving homeless veterans. The Network applauds the State's commitment to reducing veteran homelessness but urges developers working in localities that have already made great strides in ending veteran homelessness, such as New York City and Binghamton, to talk to their government partners about the remaining need for veteran supportive housing before applying.
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Capital One's New Initiative "Blueprints to Buildings Fund"
Three NYC nonprofits selected
Capital One Bank announced on April 6 that three New York City nonprofit organizations have been selected to participate in the bank's new Blueprints to Buildings Fund (B2B Fund) - West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, Mutual Housing Association of NY Management, and Settlement Housing Fund. Driven by the bank's recognition that more and more New Yorkers are paying a large share of their income on rent, the B2B Fund is meant to catalyze the construction of deeply affordable housing that will be a community asset over the long term. Specifically, the B2B Fund will support the pre-development and project planning efforts of neighborhood-focused nonprofit organizations through multi-year grant support, training and technical assistance, and a pre-development line of credit. The B2B Fund represents a commitment of up to $1.95MM in grants and loans.
"We are delighted that Capital One has created the B2B Fund, as pre-development funding is both crucial and rare for nonprofit developers trying to build supportive housing. With so much competition for sites, it is an especially fortuitous time to roll out a program like this, as it gives nonprofits more flexibility as they seek to acquire sites, build community support and cover the myriad early costs of developing," said the Network's Executive Director, Laura Mascuch. Over the next three years and with support from the B2B Fund, nonprofit developers will complete pre-development activities for up to five projects, representing the potential development of 335 units of affordable housing and 110 shelter beds. The proposed projects span several neighborhoods and boroughs including East New York in Brooklyn, the Hunts Point and Mt. Eden neighborhoods of the Bronx, and Manhattan Valley in upper Manhattan. Responding to the most pressing needs in each neighborhood, the projects will create larger family-size units, supportive housing for special needs populations, including seniors, and further the promising model of co-locating permanent housing with emergency shelter beds. "Capital One is committed to helping our nonprofit partners create and preserve affordable housing," says Stacey Cooper, Head of Community Development Banking. "The B2B Fund reflects the bank's commitment to invest in high impact, neighborhood-led projects that respond to the housing needs of the city's most vulnerable residents."
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Network Jobs Board Check out these job openings and many others on our Jobs Board. Network members can post their employment opportunities for free!
Project Manager for Alembic Community Development
Program Director for West End Residences
Visiting Counselor for Geels
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 Upcoming Events
The Network's
15th annual supportive housing conference is less than a month away - mark your calendars for
Thursday, June 4th and
register online now! With over 1,500 participants, this event is the largest gathering of the supportive housing community in the nation, with dozens of workshops, featuring key partners from government. If you'd like to sponsor the conference and/or exhibit, contact
Raj Hosein at 646-619-9644.
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 Member News Jessica Katz, Assistant Commissioner, Special Needs Housing, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, won the Ibo Balto Award at the 2015 Citizens Housing Planning Council (CHPC) Awards Luncheon.
Also at the CHPC Awards Luncheon, Network member Nixon Peabody, including Network board member Deborah van Amerongen, won the Impact Award for Housing, and Howard Slatkin,
Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Planning,
NYC Department of City Planning, won the Roger Starr Public Service Award. |
 News Clips The New York Times called on Governor Cuomo to fully fund NY/NY 4 with 30,000 units of new supportive housing in Homeless in New York City, an Unending Crisis. Time Warner Cable News in Buffalo positively covered Matt Urban Center's transformation of 'Hope House' to provide supportive housing for women in need, and another glowing piece appeared on Hope House in The Buffalo News. |
| Comings and Goings Alyson Zikmund,
formerly the Director of Planning, Development & Grants at DHS and DHS' Continuum of Care lead, moved in March to become HPD's Director of Policy in the Division of Special Needs Housing.
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