5-10-20 UNHP Milestones That Matter – UNHP’s 2026 Fundraiser
Local businesses brought the sazón through food, beverages, music, and dance. The Bronx Design Group came through again with a beautiful design for our custom sponsor glass.
On Thursday, May 28th, close to 150 partners, community members, UNHP staff, and friends gathered in celebration of all that we have accomplished together to preserve affordable housing and bring resources to our Bronx community at Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation’s beautiful Serviam Hall for UNHP’s annual Milestones That Matter 2026 fundraising event. This year’s event highlighted several important 5, 10, and 20-year milestones in UNHP’s history that continue to make an impact today. We honored these milestones by celebrating with our many partners who support UNHP’s mission-driven work. Latin tunes, played by DJ V-Squared, filled the hall ( Bad Bunny in rotation), while we dined on pernil, salmon, arroz mamposteao and the city’s best empanadas (according to Bobby Flay and our event guests!) by Chef Frank, enjoyed brews from Bronx Brewery, indulged in Bronx classics like S&S Cheesecake and Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, and learned NY style salsa thanks to Abril Amparo. UNHP highlighted our 20-year partnership with the Fordham University IPED graduate program, directed by Henry Schwalbenberg, Ph.D. Fordham University’s Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D., was in attendance to accept the UNHP Community Partner Award.
It was an evening to celebrate the partnerships that make our work possible. By working with banks, community groups, businesses, and non-profits, UNHP makes strides toward its mission. Pictured from left are attendees from JPMorgan Chase, Database Tycoon, Amalgamated Bank, Bronx Financial Access Coalition, LES People’s Federal Credit Union, Fordham Bedford Community Services, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, Ridgewood Savings, and POTS.
Cathy Clarke, UNHP’s Deputy Director of Development and Administration, introduced the milestones that we are celebrating at their 5-, 10 and 20-year marks. Jim Buckley (bottom left) spoke about the partnership UNHP has had with Fordham University since our creation over 40 years ago and about the importance of the 20-year partnership with the Fordham IPED Program. Roxanna Velasquez Chowdhry and Niki Quiterio, both UNHP board members and Fordham alumni, presented the community partnership award to Dr. Jonathan Crystal, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Jim Mitchell, currently a development consultant and adjunct professor at Fordham University ( top left), added a surprise milestone to commemorate: 50 years since Jim Buckley started organizing in the Bronx. Jim Mitchell hired Jim Buckley as an organizer after his graduation from Fordham University.
Catherine Clarke, UNHP’s Deputy Director of Development and Administration, opened the evening’s presentation with a big thank-you to all UNHP supporters and a welcome to all in attendance. She introduced the milestones that we are celebrating at the 5th, 10th, and 20th Anniversary marks, starting with the 5th Anniversary of ASK UNHP. ASK UNHP/ Pregúntale a UNHP, UNHP’s bilingual monthly Zoom led by UNHP’s Director of Programs, Jumelia Abrahamson, started in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and has continued as a popular hybrid workshop that provides answers to pressing questions about affordable housing and financial services from our Bronx community.
The 10-year milestone emphasized the importance of the Multifamily Water Assistance Program. “It’s safe to say this would not be a UNHP event if we didn’t bring up water and sewer, ” Clarke stated, pointing to UNHP’s role in getting water and sewer rates on the public radar. After years of UNHP and community partners speaking up about increasing water and sewer rates, the Water Board finally approved a $250 tax credit for affordable multifamily units in 2016. The original $10 million allocation was increased to $16.25 million this year, meaning 68,000 apartments will benefit from the program, up from last year’s 48,000. While UNHP celebrates this win, we recognize the importance of addressing water and sewer rates, as increasing water rates, on top of skyrocketing insurance premiums, put affordable housing developers in a precarious position. In UNHP’s latest report, Every Nickel Counts, we call for increasing funding from $16.25 million to $100 million, which would allow the Program to cover up to $500 per unit rather than $250 per unit. UNHP testified against the Water Board’s proposed 6% rate increase for FY 27 at the June 2nd public hearing. The public can submit written testimony via email to nycwaterboard@dep.nyc.gov before 4 pm on June 3rd.
Food break! A big thank you to Liselis and Chef Frank for the excellent food and service! Empandas, pernil, salmon, and plantains were the stars of the buffet!
2026 marked two 20-year milestones for UNHP, including the 20th anniversary of the Building Indicator Project. In 2006, UNHP hosted its first meeting of multifamily lenders. Since then, UNHP has hosted an annual meeting for multifamily lenders to share BIP data with major lenders, foundations, public agencies, owners, and managers to preserve affordability and improve living conditions in Bronx multifamily buildings throughout NYC. The BIP remains relevant to the affordable housing space, and UNHP continues to improve the database, making important data points accessible to a wider audience. One recent improvement updated the Signature Dashboard to include the active loan status of buildings in the multifamily portfolio formerly owned by Signature.
Thank you to Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg, IPED Director; Dr. Donna Odra, Associate Director IPED; Dr. Jonathan Crystal, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Dean Ann Gaylin Ph.D, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences; Dr. Alma Schwalbenberg; Dr. Giacomo Santangelo, Advisor for International Political Economy; and Taryn Rackmeyer, Mara Rodriguez, and Amanda Caputo, of Fordham External Affairs, for your support and attendance. Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg, also a UNHP Board member, received an award for his service. Dr. Donna Odra, Associate Director of IPED, was also acknowledged for her work with UNHP and the IPED program.
The second 20-year milestone we celebrated this year is the impactful partnership between UNHP and Fordham’s International Political Economy and Development Master’s Program. Since 2006, UNHP has hosted IPED students as 3-semester-long interns, allowing them to further hone their writing and analytical skills, as well as their aptitude for service, through grant writing, energy assessments, and public outreach efforts. A number of current IPED students and alumni attended the event, along with the Director and Associate Director of IPED, who accepted awards for their contribution to the partnership. Fordham University was well-represented at the event; thank you to Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg, IPED Director; Dr. Donna Odra, Associate Director IPED; Dr. Jonathan Crystal, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Dean Ann Gaylin Ph.D, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences; Dr. Alma Schwalbenberg; Dr. Giacomo Santangelo, Advisor for International Political Economy; and Taryn Rackmeyer, Mara Rodriguez, and Amanda Caputo, of Fordham External Affairs, for your support and attendance. Dr. Crystal thanked UNHP for the award and noted that the University and the IPED fellows also benefited from the partnership.
It is no coincidence that it is both Jim’s Golden Jubilee year graduating from Fordham University and 50 years since he began his first “real job” organizing in the Bronx. The article on the left was featured in the Jubilee Fordham yearbook. On the right, Jim joins Citibank bankers, fellow organizers, and neighborhood leaders for Citibank’s signing of a reinvestment agreement. The vacant building is marked with a Reclaim sign, indicating that the community has plans for this property and others scattered throughout the northwest Bronx. The photo at the bottom is from one of the neighborhood tours of vacant properties, with public officials and bankers, as the Reinvestment project sought private and public commitments. Ted Panos, neighborhood leader, is in the foreground, and Jim was the photographer. Read more about Jim’s community development roots in this blog post.
To top off an incredible night, we celebrated an extra important milestone this year– Jim’s 50th anniversary since he began organizing in the Bronx. After graduating with a degree in Economics from Fordham University, Jim began working for the Northwest Bronx Community Clergy and Coalition in 1976 as a Community Organizer. The person who hired Jim and the Coalition’s first Executive Director, Jim Mitchell, shared a few words about their early days together. He memorably recalled a conversation he had with neighborhood leader Ted Panos back in the early days of Jim Buckley’s career. “Whaddya think of Buckley?” Ted Panos asked. “I think he’s great,” Mitchell replied. “A really hardworking guy and very smart…” But before he could finish, Panos cut him off. Mitchell laughed as he remembered the conversation: “Panos interrupted me and said, ‘I think he’s a genius.” Jim continued as an organizer for 12 years, eventually becoming the Director of the Reinvestment Project, an organizing initiative to get banks to reinvest in the Bronx after years of redlining. Ted Panos continued to work in the neighborhood and was the co-chair of the Reinvestment Committee, testifying before Congress in 1980, in support of improved reinvestment policies for banks. In 1988, Jim became the founding director of UNHP, focusing on using bank lending commitments to support the community’s acquisition of distressed properties. The heartfelt and celebratory speech set the tone for the rest of the night as attendees learned how to dance NY-style salsa and shared laughs and smiles.
The Fordham IPED Program was well represented at the event by the program’s directors, as well as by former and current IPED students.
A fun NY Salsa Basic lesson led by Abril Amparo was part of the evening!
Dancer, Instructor, and entrepreneur Abril Amparo offers a few pointers to salsa students.
On behalf of the UNHP Board and staff, we want to thank everyone who attended, donated, and supported our 2026 annual Milestones That Matter fundraising event. We couldn’t have done it without you! We look forward to many more years of preserving and creating affordable housing in the Bronx community. Below is more in-depth information about the milestones we are marking, along with a list of our generous sponsors. We would also like to give a huge thank you and shout-out to our Event Photographer, Lovette Bartolome, a Bronx-based freelance Photographer.
Lovette Bartolome, freelance Event Photographer takes a group picture of Fordham University attendees.
5-10-20 UNHP Milestones that Matter
The Northwest Bronx Resource Center’s beloved ASK UNHP sessions turned 5 this year! Initially launched in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASK UNHP still remains relevant today, connecting Bronx residents to valuable financial and housing resources. Since its initiation, ASK UNHP has evolved from online-only sessions to hybrid events, allowing attendees to gather information in person and follow up on referrals to our partner organizations, which provide specific financial coaching and services to meet individuals’ needs. Recently, ASK UNHP partnered with ARIVA, a free tax preparation and financial counseling service based in the Bronx, to provide a bilingual webinar for small businesses.
10 Years of Credits with DEP’s Multi-family Water Assistance Program
The Multifamily Water Assistance Program was approved by the New York City Water Board in 2016, scoring a win for the affordable housing sector by offering a $250 credit per residential unit on water and sewer bills. Savings from the program have allowed UNHP to reinvest in multifamily properties and install additional cost-saving technologies, such as LED lighting in public areas and roof upgrades. In our latest report, Every Nickel Counts: Recommendations to Preserve Distressed Affordable Multifamily Housing, we emphasize the rising costs of water and the devastating effects this has on affordable housing. Our recommendation to address this challenge is to increase funding from $16.25 million to $100 million, and increase the per-unit credit to $500.
20 Years of IPED Fellows at UNHP
University Neighborhood Housing Program has supported IPED Fellows from Fordham University’s International Political Economy and Development Program since 2006. This year marks 20 years since the relationship began, bringing former Peace Corps Volunteers to the Bronx through the prestigious Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program. The program offers Returned Peace Corps Volunteers the opportunity to continue their service while pursuing an advanced degree. In partnership with Fordham, Fellows are offered a full tuition scholarship and a Bronx community internship. UNHP is one of the partners and has benefited from receiving RPCVs for a 3-semester-long commitment who served all over the world, from Ecuador to Madagascar and beyond. Over the years, Fellows have contributed to UNHP’s work through their commitment to service by providing invaluable skills in data analytics, research, writing, and more. In particular, they have been instrumental in advancing our advocacy efforts in the Northwest Bronx by using their skills to assist with community outreach events, track energy conservation efforts, write detailed reports on UNHP’s affordable housing preservation, and contribute to crucial research.
Building Indicator Project (BIP) hits 20!
20 years ago, with the labor of a fleet of interns, UNHP manually looked up more than a dozen data points for each of the 7,175 Bronx multifamily buildings and issued our first Building Indicator Project (BIP) database release to multifamily lenders. Since that time, the BIP, a tool of UNHP’s Multifamily Research and Action Center (MFRAC), is mostly automated and shared quarterly with over 100 multifamily lenders, community organizations, and regulators. The database and its scoring system identify NYC multifamily buildings likely to be in physical and/or financial distress. The BIP has aggregated over a decade of data on 70,000+ rental buildings in the city, with more than 120 data points tracked per building. Non-profits use BIP to identify distressed buildings in their catchment areas, organize them, build portfolios by landlord or lender, and conduct analysis to support advocacy. Financial institutions use the data to monitor properties in their lending portfolios and hold their borrowers accountable for conditions. During CRA examinations, regulatory bodies review BIP scores for buildings within a bank’s portfolio to ensure that loans meet community needs. The MFRAC holds yearly lender roundtables to share citywide analysis of BIP findings and trends in NYC Multifamily real estate. The integrity of the data played a significant role in identifying the multifamily buildings that were part of the collapsed Signature Bank portfolio. Pictured above: A big thank you for the UNHP BIP Masters through the years- Gregory Jost, VaNessa LaNier, Jacob Udell, and Ana Peña! – all under the direction of Jim Buckley, UNHP’s Executive Director
Thank you 5-10-20 Milestone Sponsors!
Mission Supporters
Fordham University
William and Eileen Kreussling Charitable Foundation
Affordable Housing Supporters
Amalgamated Bank
Apple Bank
BNY
BUILD, INC
Community Preservation Corporation
JPMorgan Chase
Lemle & Wolff Companies
Reclaim HDFC
Reclaim Round II
Sycamore Birch Management Corporation
Valley Bank
Webster Bank
West Farms Square
The Wilton HDFC
WMW Realty Management
Research and Action Supporters
In memory of Theresa Liu-Avitabile
Brian J. Byrne & Jean McBride Byrne
Emigrant Bank
Jair and Ryan Home Improvement Inc.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank
Morgan Stanley
NorthEast Community Bank
Peapack Private
Popular Bank
Santander Bank
TRYAX Realty in memory of Michael Schmelzer
Bronx Service Supporters
Crauderueff Solar
Database Tycoon
Dime Community Bank
Douglaston Development
Enterprise Community Partners
Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation
Fordham University Campus Ministry
Jack & Annie
Jim Buckley & Joan Gasser
Peter and Mary Gray
VaNessa and VeNita LaNier
Michael Lappin
Leviticus Fund
Lower East Side (LES) People’s Federal Credit Union
Javier Lugo of Lugo Financial
Joe Muriana & Annelen Madigan
O’Leary O’Toole Family
Our Bronx
POTS
Spring Bank
Henry Schwalbenberg
John Van Bomel, Esq
Mark A. Willis
WithumSmith+Brown, PC
#ViewNWBX Supporters
Benchmark Title Agency
Linda Blackstock
Denis & Peggy Boyle
Brown & Brown
The Clarke Family
Congul HDFC
The Conley Family
Gramercy Risk Management
Highbridge Community Development Corporation
Johanna C. Kletter
Chris Gasser & Marcia Lucas
The Mitchell Family
Raniel Perez
Ridgewood Savings Bank
Spanarkel Browne & Associates – Merrill Lynch
Tammy + Resource Center Friends
Patricia Haran & Denis Sullivan
USA East Province of the Society of Jesus
Workforce Housing
Thank you to our sponsors for making our work possible!