Welcome to the October 2016 issue of
Network News
, the Supportive Housing Network of New York's monthly e-newsletter. You'll find lead articles on our annual Awards Gala, two openings of new supportive housing residences, new HHAP awards, and more. Thanks for reading!
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2016 Network Awards Gala
The founders of the supportive housing movement honored, as well as Private Sector Partner of the Year, and Tenants & Residences of the Year.
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The founders of the supportive housing movement.
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New York's supportive housing community came together on October 13th for a particularly special version of our annual Network Awards Gala in a year that saw historic commitments from the Governor and Mayor for 35,000 new units of supportive housing. We honored
Father John McVean, Father John Felice, Ellen Baxter, Tony Hannigan, John Tynan, Laura Jervis, Stephan Russo, Connie Tempel, David Gillcrist (for Project FIND) and our own
Bill Traylor -- the pioneers of the supportive housing movement.
More than 600 guests joined us at Capitale to celebrate these outstanding individuals of supportive housing and our amazing community. The mood was festive during the 90 minute cocktail hour as friends and colleagues revived old friendships and forged new ones.
The night's festivities continued with our awards ceremony. This year, in addition to the distinctive recognition offered to our founders, we honored two remarkable tenants, three outstanding residences, and a Private Sector Partner of the Year, Alembic Community Development.
Network Board Chair and Richman Housing Resources President
Bill Traylor welcomed the crowd, and introduced the Network's Executive Director,
Laura Mascuch, who expressed her heartfelt thanks to the Network's Board, staff and the community for all their support.
Shatiera Freeman, of The Door and Breaking Ground, accepted the first of the evening's two
Tenant of the Year awards from the Network's
Sydney Kopp-Richardson. Ms. Freeman, a young adult who has spent much of her life in foster care, has dedicated herself to improving the lives of others, most recently in her work as a peer counselor with PAUS (Peers Against Unsafe Sex).
The Network's
Rebecca Sauer presented our upstate
Residence of the Year award to
Marlies Wesolowski of
Lt. Colonel Matt Urban Human Services Center of Western New York for their gorgeous
Hope Gardens residence, serving 20 chronically homeless women. Ms. Wesolowski spoke movingly about her own experiences growing up with a single mom in deplorable public housing "as a small child I'd wake up with a rat crawling across my bed" and described how profoundly this affected her choice to work in supportive housing.
Steve Coe, of Community Access, welcomed
Mark Reed of
Alembic Community Development to the podium to receive our
Private Sector Partner of the Year award, and talked about the huge impact that Alembic has made on New York supportive housing. Alembic's Co-Founder Mark Reed noted that nonprofits are critical to supportive housing development.
Network Chair Bill Traylor introduced the
special honorees from the founding of the movement with heartfelt words and the personal insight of someone who began his career in supportive housing working with these icons. He invited Father John Felice of St. Francis Friends of the Poor and the other founders in the audience to the stage to receive this
Distinctive Recognition- a group in which Traylor himself is included. Father Felice spoke about the early days, and the founders got a standing ovation from the crowd in recognition of their transformative achievements in creating and nurturing our supportive housing movement.
Ms. Sauer presented the second
Residence of the Year Award to
Dan Johannson of
ACMH, Inc., who graciously shared credit with the many amazing partners involved in creating
East 144th Street Affordable Housing, all of whom are longtime Network supporters.
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Trolley Station Apartments Opens in Canandaigua
DePaul dedicates a new supportive and affordable housing complex.
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Trolley Station Apartments.
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On September 18th, DePaul hosted an open house for its brand new supportive housing residence in Canandaigua, NY. Trolley Station Apartments is a homey and spacious 48-unit affordable/supportive housing complex with 22 units dedicated to serving individuals with mental health challenges. The name pays homage to the site's former use as a stop on a trolley line that transported workers at a large Civil War era orphanage.
There are numerous amenities for tenants including a computer room, a community room, and laundry on each floor. Each apartment features a flat screen tv (with basic cable!), and a fully equipped kitchen. Sidewalks around the complex link to a network of community trails that connect to town parks offering residents a taste of nature and easy opportunity to exercise.
The building also features a rooftop solar element and state-of-the-art free standing solar panels - these are expected to save $16,000 annually by providing 58% of the housing development's electricity. The development incorporates "green" standards, including using Energy Star rated appliances and lighting fixtures and high-efficiency furnaces and condensing units for heating and cooling.
DePaul's Executive Director
Mark Fuller acted as MC and was joined by the numerous representatives from the private and public partners who helped make Trolley Station Apartments a reality.
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165th Street Residence Opens
PSCH's newest supportive housing project.
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Cutting the ribbon at 165th Street residence.
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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.
Developed with Christa Construction and CSD Housing, the lovely ten story residence features an exercise room, a spacious outdoor recreation area and bike storage in addition to the beautifully-designed studio, one-and two-bedroom apartments.
PSCH CEO
Alan Weinstock and CFO
Sherry Tucker hosted the packed celebration, citing the numerous obstacles the project encountered in the multi-year effort to get the building built as well as the roster of partners who helped see the project through to fruition. Partners including OMH's
Moira Tashjian, Christa Construction's
Mike Dehmler and NYC Community Affairs Liaison
Jonathan Soto spoke about the project's physical beauty with its bright yellow architectural highlights as well as its excellent mission, to provide quality housing opportunities for vulnerable New Yorkers. Deputy Bronx Borough President
Aurelia Greene was on hand to welcome PSCH to the neighborhood. And
Kim Blocker, a tenant of another PSCH residence for the past five years shared her personal story of renewal, reminding those in attendance about the power of supportive housing to transform lives.
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$21.6 Million Awarded for Eight New Supportive Housing Projects
Seven awardees are Network members.
Governor Cuomo announced nearly $21.6 million in awards for eight supportive housing projects across New York State. Awards were made through the state's Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance's Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) to create a total of 265 supportive housing units.
Awardees include the following, of which seven are Network members:
- Lt. Col. Matt Urban Center (Erie County) $3,112,670
- Utica Center for Development (Oneida County) $3,174,100
- Concern for Independent Living, Inc. (Suffolk County) $1,308,842
- Association for Mental Health and Wellness, Inc. (Suffolk County) $1,988,716
- Rescue Mission of Utica, Inc. (Oneida County) $1,711,839
- United Veterans Beacon House, Inc. (Suffolk County) $1,547,164
- Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, Inc. (Kings County, NYC) $2,993,268
- Concern for Independent Living, Inc. (Nassau County) $5,750,000
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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!
Leasing Specialist for Breaking Ground
Outreach Housing Advocate for Breaking Ground
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Upcoming Events
CUCS/Network Trainings: CMCP Module 1 - Introduction to Case Management
Date: November 18, 2016
Time: 9:30am-3:30pm
Location: CUCS Training Center, 198 East 121st, NYC
Registration links here.
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In the News
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Comings and Goings
After 26 years helping nonprofits work with communities in the Bronx to site supportive housing,
Wilhelm Ronda is retiring from
the office of the Bronx Borough President, as Director of the Bureau of Planning and Development. He was a great ally to our community and will be missed. "Wilhelm was a huge asset for our Planning & Development, having overseen great growth in our borough. During my tenure, Wilhelm helped the Bronx reach a period of sustained growth, helping expand government investment in affordable housing," said Bronx Borough President
Ruben Diaz Jr. Best wishes and many thanks, Mr. Ronda!
Marilyn Laves, WIN's Assistant Vice President of Supportive Housing, is leaving to be a consultant and open a private social work practice. Wishing you the best, Ms. Laves!
The Network welcomes
Shameika Nixon as our new graduate student intern for the fall. She is a Tow Fellow at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is pursuing a Master's degree in Public Administration. Nixon (as she prefers) will be working primarily with Senior Policy
Analyst Edline Jacquet on various policy and advocacy issues including the Network's youth and family work
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The Network welcomes intern Samantha Graebner, currently in the final year of her Master's program in Social Work at Columbia University. She will be working primarily with Policy Analyst Robin Pagliuco on housing data and pipeline management as well as creating and implementing a tracking system for the Mayor's and Governor's combined commitments of 35,000 units over the next fifteen years.
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Member News
The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services
is one of six finalists for the 2016 New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards.
The Lawyers Alliance of NY would like to offer Network nonprofit members expert
pro bono assistance with various legal activities including contracts, construction loans, leases, commitment letters, administrative service agreements, collaborations, intellectual property licenses, work for hire arrangements, letters of credit, grant agreements, and other contracts.
For more information, contact Client Relations Coordinator
Ellie Brandmeyer
or phone 212-219-1800 x 278.
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