Your Sometimes Monthly News & Updates |
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SHARP Grants Available April 15 |
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Thank you to City of Syracuse Neighborhood and Business Development and the Syracuse Common Council for funding the Syracuse Homeowners Assistance & Repair Program or SHARP Grants as it is best known. SHARP Grants of up to $1,500 are available to city of Syracuse homeowners, who have not had a SHARP grant in the last three years, for small, exterior or health and safety repairs. Homeowners need to meet household income eligibility or live within an area of eligibility. Homeowners must be current on their property taxes and mortgage.
SHARP Grant applications will be available to download from our website at www.homehq.org, by mail or at our office. Applications are available on a first come, first served basis.
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HHQ Welcomes Keisha Lloyd & Nina Zesky |
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Keisha Lloyd joins Home HeadQuarters as an Administrative Assistant for Syracuse Model Neighborhood Corp (SMNC). Keisha is from Syracuse and is a graduate of Henninger High School. She previously worked in the food and service industries, but found her true passion and calling while working for her father’s construction company in Long Island. She is passionate about both construction and helping people, which made Home HeadQuarters such an appealing place to work.
"When I found out about this position, I knew it was meant for me!"
As a proud mom of three children, Keisha loves her day-to-day interactions with people that she feels she can lend a helping hand. She is excited to put her skills and experiences to use to help people who find themselves in situations that she has been through, and to make sure everyone feels valued and supported.
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Nina Zesky has joined Home HeadQuarters’ Buffalo office, where she works as a Program Manager. Nina studied construction management as an undergraduate, before going on to earn her Masters of Urban Planning from the University at Buffalo. She has previously worked for the Buffalo Common Council and the Girl Scouts of Western New York.
Nina, who has lived in Buffalo for seven years, resides in the Elmwood Village neighborhood. She loves how passionate people are about being in – or being from – Buffalo, the “City of good neighbors.” She said that she is excited to come to work for Home HeadQuarters because she believes the organization, “tries to find the route to yes so as to make measurable change happen.”
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Home HeadQuarters is now a member of the New York State Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP). This almost 45 year-old program, helps support community development organizations promote and preserve affordable housing. HHQ joins more than 130 Neighborhood and almost 60 Rural Preservation Companies across the State.
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The Resilient Retrofits 1% Loan Program kicks off next week with a media announcement in the town of Lackawanna on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz will join New York State Homes & Community Renewal Deputy Commissioner Leonard Skrill and HHQ's Deputy Director Anna Falicov to announce the $9 million loan fund for income-eligible Erie, Broome, Kings & Queens and Suffolk County homeowners who live in the 500-year floodplain to help preserve their homes in the face of increasing flood events and other climate-readiness needs. For more information on the Erie Program, visit www.homehq.org/erieretrofits.
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Syracuse FEC Strategies Make all the Difference |
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Jamie O’Hara had a lot on her plate. She became a mom at the age of 18 and with little money in the bank, she racked up multiple credit cards trying to provide. With a credit score that fell below 500, Jaime worked three jobs to stay afloat.
After a decade of feeling like she could never catch up no matter how hard she worked, Jamie finally reached out to the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), a free service to all residents in and around the city of Syracuse, providing professional, one-to-one financial counseling.
Syracuse FEC Counselor Audriana Ortega was assigned to the case. "Audriana never made me feel bad about the position that I was in. She taught me the strategies I could use to get to a better place.”
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Make an appointment for your free financial counseling today!
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Local Partners Helping to Rebuild Community |
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As a boy in Nigeria, William Ben-Shidah would watch his uncle build many things in his daily work. He learned much from his uncle, but most importantly, he learned how to salvage and reuse old wood, a vital skill in Nigeria due to the scarcity of material. As an adult working in the building trades in Syracuse, William opened his own construction company, B.B. Construction in 2009. That same year, the very first job he took – a home renovation on Madison Street in Syracuse – was awarded to him by Home HeadQuarters.
Fourteen years later, and now a New York State Certified Minority Business Enterprise and one of only a handful of E.P.A. certified Lead Abatement contractors, B.B. Construction, under William's leadership, continues to partner with Home HeadQuarters to put vacant and derelict properties back into the hands of owner-occupants.
Currently, William and crew are working on a property Home HeadQuarters purchased from the Syracuse Land Bank that sat vacant for almost a decade in Syracuse's Tipperary Hill neighborhood. The Tipperary Hill Neighborhood Association and residents on the same block as the vacant house had long hoped to return the property to the city's tax rolls and get it occupied.
Home HeadQuarters is utilizing ARPA and CDBG funds made possible through the city of Syracuse to get the property substantially rehabilitated and will ultimately sell the home to a first-time homebuyer.
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Repping with the Representatives |
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Home HeadQuarters' Deputy Executive Directors, Latoya Allen and Anna Falicov, hit the hill in DC this week as part of the National NeighborWorks Association's (NNA) annual Legislative Day. As a member of NNA, and as a chartered member of NeighborWorks America, Home HeadQuarters was able to provide timely information on our Upstate NY housing market, challenges in the home building arena and growing opportunities for more equitable lending.
Our sincere gratitude to Congressman Brian Higgins, Congressman Brandon Williams and all their DC staff for the opportunity to build these important relationships and to discuss the work that we do!
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Pictured left top: HHQ Deputy Executive Directors Anna Falicov and Latoya Allen meet with Congressman Higgins during NNA's Legislative Day in Washington D.C. Pictured left bottom: HHQ CEO Kerry Quaglia meets with Congressman Williams in the Congressman's Syracuse office. |
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We haven't had a Before & After photo in some time so we're sharing these two satellite shots of the 100 and 200 blocks of West Kennedy Street in Syracuse. The first photo was taken in 2003 and the second, almost 10 years later in 2022. It certainly shows some progress on infill development, but also highlights that there is always more that needs to be done. |
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