Views from the Northwest Bronx

Both Bronx News12 and NY1 news aired news reports about the NYC online affordable housing lottery, known as Housing Connect. UNHP is featured in both reports for our work as a Housing Ambassador.

On March 8th UNHP held its Multifamily Assistance Center Annual Meeting at the offices of Enterprise Comunity Partners, with a focus on economic and real estate trends and the growing affordable housing crisis in NYC. The meeting was attended by 46 individuals representing 27 distinct lending institutions.

Thanks to the Building Operator Training Program developed by the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the Building Performance Lab of CUNY’s Sustainable Building Initiative, fourteen (14) UNHP building superintendents, and two ownership representatives have received 30 hours of intensive training designed to improve multifamily building operations and maintenance as well as save energy and curb operating costs.

UNHP was one of the sponsors of the 10/29/18 CRA at a Crossroads Forum; Understanding the Impact and Ensuring the Future of the Community Reinvestment Act. The well-attended Forum was held at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University and featured a speech by FDIC Board member Martin J. Gruenberg and a community development panel.

On Saturday, October 20th, UNHP held its 2nd annual Bronxtober Fest – offering a wide range of on-the-spot assistance for the crowd of over 80 Bronx residents. Thanks to our Fordham University and Manhattan College student volunteers, over 60 attendees enrolled in Housing Connect, NYC’s online affordable housing lottery.

A big thank you to our generous sponsors, beneficent raffle donors, unique food and beverage vendors and – of course, our over 150 delightful guests that made our 2018 Fundraiser at The Bronx Beer Hall a success!

On June 28, 2018, UNHP hosted a well-attended forum on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as it moves towards modernization, 40+ years after it was first legislated.

Dozens of Bronx buildings that had applied for the $10 million Multifamily Water Assistance Program started to receive their $250/unit rebate at the end of May. At their June 2018 meeting, the NYC Water Board budgeted for the continuation of the program in 2019.

“For immigrants - undocumented, new arrivals and even foreign-born citizens – access to banking is the first step to making sense of financial systems in the US”

Dozens of eligible affordable Bronx buildings that had applied for the $10 million Multifamily Water Assistance Program have started to receive their $250/unit rebate. This is great news and will help keep rents affordable and support building improvements. The not so good news- The New York City Water Board is in the midst of its regular rate-setting process and has proposed a 2.36% increase in water and sewer rates.