Views from the Northwest Bronx

As part of UNHP's This is What We Do series, The Northwest Bronx Resource Center (NWBRC) attracted over 50 participants to two Zoom and Facebook Live webinars, one in English and the other in Spanish, for NWBRC Program Users and Bronx residents. The Webinars provided detailed information about Covid Relief Programs that are available to those struggling due to the impact of the pandemic, including rent relief and funds for excluded workers.

On July 28th we continued our This is What We Do series by highlighting our annual Multifamily Lenders Meeting as an example of how UNHP uses research and action to accomplish its mission to preserve affordable housing. The meeting focused on multifamily finance, specifically, the role that banks play in ensuring decent, habitable affordable housing for Bronx tenants. Read here for a summary of the meeting and the presentation materials.

There is still apparently no agreement to restore the network relationship between United Healthcare (UHC) and Montefiore Health System. UNHP has learned a lot as we were faced with the loss of coverage for our staff about these issues and we remain committed to seeing that changes are made - this updated blog shares what we have learned and how we plan to move forward.

For the third event in our virtual series and fundraiser, This is What We Do, UNHP brought together 31 Bronx housing operators from 12 organizations to discuss the issues that affect the housing they oversee to understand trends and emerging issues that jeopardize affordability. It is also What We Do to escalate these issues and seek to address the policies behind the issues. Read the full summary to learn more.

In this, the second post of the Housing Connect series, we look at how our program users at the Northwest Bronx Resource Center experience the Housing Connect process.

As an HPD Housing Ambassador since 2017, UNHP assists Bronx residents to apply for the NYC Affordable Housing Lottery, known as Housing Connect. In this first post of a 2 part series about Housing New York, UNHP provides an overview of what is being built, and how that matches with the needs of Bronx residents.

This is What We Do is a series of events that illustrate how UNHP works towards its affordable housing and community service mission. UNHP provides valuable community services like assistance with the NYC affordable housing lottery, known as Housing Connect, to Bronx apartment seekers. UNHP also shares our experience and the experience of community members. UNHP has written a two-part blog post about those experiences and our suggestions on ways to make new affordable housing better meet the needs of community residents.

It has been a year since the pandemic hit the Bronx hard and early with consequences for families and individuals in all the parts of their lives. Third, in our A Year Into Covid series, this blog post takes stock of where Bronx residents stand now in terms of health, jobs, and housing.

On Thursday, May 27th UNHP hosted a Water and Sewer Seminar looking at the ongoing rise of rates and their impact on affordable housing. UNHP, a longtime advocate for water and sewer rate reform shared a brief history of the changes that brought about the never-ending increases and a call for involvement about proposed rate increases, a new metered billing rate, and a study of the rate structure.

UNHP has worked for over 30 years to highlight rising water and sewer rates as a threat to housing affordability. The DEP Multifamily Water Assistance Program with its credit for affordable housing has ameliorated some, but not all of that threat. Now we are calling attention to rising insurance premiums and calling for action.