A Great Night in the Bronx! UNHP 40th Anniversary Celebration

May 10, 2023

by UNHP

What a wonderful evening of generous spirit and goodwill in celebration of UNHP’s 40 years of work in the Bronx built on community organizing, fortified by hard-won financial reinvestment commitments, expanded by countless partnerships and collaborations, and made real through the perseverance and energy of community leaders, Northwest Bronx Resource Center members, staff, and board. The 190+ people in attendance were a good representation of what it takes to be an effective mission-driven 40-year-old community organization: Bronx residents and neighborhood leaders, community, banking, corporate, nonprofit, and for-profit partners, funders, and supporters; talented former and current staff; expert legal, accounting and management support; strong board members, and engaged affordable housing building operators.

Jim Buckley, UNHP’s Executive Director, in his welcoming remarks, shared that he’s had “several people marvel at the scope and impact of UNHP and all that has to do with the people here who come to meetings and the staff who keeps plugging away. Nothing is accomplished by a single individual or organization; things are accomplished when people listen and learn from each other, set an agenda together, and work to make it happen.” Jim thanked all in attendance and all who contribute to our work. Jim highlighted our top-tier Ruby and Decades sponsors (listed below) all those who donated and everyone who contributes to our mission to create and preserve affordable housing and bring resources to the Bronx. The Norwood News was on hand to cover the event, interview attendees, and highlighted the ongoing need for our mission as the affordable housing crisis worsens.

Joe Muriana, (top center) UNHP’s board president was the evening’s honoree. Al Drummond, Jim Buckley, VaNessa LaNier, Roger Hayes, and John Reilly were part of the program for the evening.

UNHP Board members VaNessa LaNier and Roger Hayes led the program and shared what projects excited them as UNHP Board members. Vanessa, UNHP’s former Director of Data shared the unique perspective that UNHP can offer as a community group that is a community-based housing developer, engages with tenants, serves neighborhood residents, and utilizes research and data to support the mission. Roger, an early Bronx organizer, focused on the continuity of the work and the ability of UNHP to incorporate technology and research to address long-standing issues with multifamily living conditions and the more recent rise in rents. Roger went on to cite the NY Housing Conference Statement on Signature Bank multifamily mortgages and the role of UNHP and its decade-old Building Indicator Project (BIP) database to ensure that the tenants living in the multifamily buildings mortgaged by Signature Bank have habitable, well-maintained, affordable homes.

UNHP selected UNHP’s Board President for 30 of our 40 years, Fordham University administrator, adjunct professor, attorney, community organizer, and executive director, Joe Muriana, as our honoree. Al Drummond who came to community work in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood through Joe’s early work as an organizer paid tribute to Joe with a reflection on “The Road Taken” by Joe for his life’s work. “All of those living in the Northwest Bronx have benefited because Joe chose the road where his talents could be used for the common good. His talents are many, his passion is real, and the neighborhood is better because of the choices he made.” John Reilly, UNHP Board member and recently retired director of Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC) presented Joe with an award and called him Staten Island’s greatest gift to the Bronx. Joe’s many accomplishments and tributes are shared in this post.

The Bronx was the star of the evening starting with a slideshow ( slides highlighted below) that traced the periods of decline and abandonment through to its transformation perhaps best illustrated by the beautiful venue at Serviam Hall, part of the affordable housing Serviam campus developed by Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation in collaboration with the Ursuline Sisters of Bedford Park. Bronx food and drink selections were made available by Miss Vivienne’s Catering, Gun Hill Brewing Company, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, and S&S Cheesecake. Music, audio, and visual services were provided by VMV Entertainment, our beautiful photos shared in this post were ByMarquez, and The Bronx Design Group designed our logos, signs, glasses, and banners. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, donors, and contributors, the event was also a fundraising success! UNHP was able to raise money to support our work in the coming year, including our newest efforts to install solar panels in our affordable housing portfolio, our collaboration with Bronx Ahora, a group of frustrated housing seekers working for deeper affordability and ease of application in housing lotteries and working more closely with community organizing groups to utilize data and acquisition strategies to increase permanent decent affordable housing.

As UNHP began planning for our 40th year we wanted to do a few things; mark the event with a nod to our history and an eye to the future, engage with our partners more deeply, and celebrate in the Bronx, with our pint glasses and a bunch of our friends and partners. We have done all that with our throwback blog posts, virtual and in-person gatherings, and with our 40th and Still Fighting Event! There’s more to come in 2023 and thank you for being a part of our 40th year – we would not have made it without you! We are grateful to be able to celebrate our work to create and preserve affordable housing and bring resources to our Bronx community with you and our many partners. As Jim said in his welcoming remarks; we say thank you a lot at UNHP and here we are saying it again! Enjoy more pictures taken at our event, a thank you to our contributors, and a few slides that trace the Bronx transformation over the past 40 years.

Thank you to all our sponsors and donors, and a special thanks to our Ruby and Decades Sponsors! Pictured above, Ruby Sponsors: Apple Bank, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, New York Community Bank, a division of Flagstar, N.A. and M&T Bank.

Thank You Again to Our Generous Sponsors, Donors, and Contributors!

Ruby Sponsors $10,000

Apple Bank
Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation
M&T Bank
New York Community Bank, division of Flagstar Bank, N.A.

Decades Sponsors $5,000

Amalgamated Bank
BNY Mellon
B.U.I.L.D. Inc
Dougert Management
Hayes Family Charitable Fund
HSBC Bank USA
JPMorgan Chase
William & Eileen Kreussling Charitable Foundation
Lemle & Wolff Companies
Sycamore Birch Management Corporation
Valley Bank
Webster Bank
WMW Realty Management

Affordable Housing Supporter $3,000

Jim Buckley and Joan Gasser
Community Preservation Corporation
Dime Community Bank
Enterprise Community Partners
Esquire Bank
Morgan Stanley
Popular Bank
TRYAX Realty Management
Santander Bank
WithumSmith+Brown, PC

Research and Action Supporter $2,000

In memory of Theresa Liu-Avitabile
Bank United
Brian J. Byrne & Jean McBride-Byrne
Emigrant Bank
Highbridge Community Development Corporation
Phipps Houses
John Van Bomel, Esq

Bronx Service Supporter $1,500

Benchmark Title Agency
Nancy Dillon & Edward O’Brien
DUPO
Denis Sullivan & Patricia Haran
VaNessa LaNier
Joe Muriana and Annelen Madigan
Part of the Solution (POTS)
Ridgewood Savings Bank
Henry Schwalbenberg
Skyline 1 LLC
Spring Bank

Views NWBX Supporter $800

Denis & Peggy Boyle
The Bronx Design Group
The Bronx Pro Group
Brown & Brown
The Clarke Family
Alfred & Patricia Drummond
Sandra Erickson Real Estate, Inc
Fordham University
Roger & Geri Hayes
Johanna C. Kletter
The Mitchell Family
Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC)
Skylar & Sandler, LLP
Spanarkel Browne & Associates – Merrill Lynch
USA East Province of the Society of Jesus
Workforce Housing Group

Community Contributor $300-$700

La Familia Abrahamson
Diana Breen
Linda Blackstock
Mark Bourbeau
Capital Appraisal Services
The Conley Family
Dailey Walker Strategies
Forsyth Street Affordable Housing
Oda C. Friedheim
John Reilly & Lois Harr
Mike Lappin, Lappin Associates
LES People’s Federal Credit Union
The Heng Ly Family
The Jost Family
Chris Planicka
The Strojan Family
Roxanna Chowdry-Velasquez

Special shout-out to our community partner, Ruby sponsor, and affordable housing collaborator, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, and its affiliates! FBHC generously provided the venue space and the services of Tony Garcia, bottom left, and cleaned up top right, FBHC’s Super super.

Thank you to The Bronx Design Group for the logos, banners, and custom pint glasses. Thank you to the Northwest Bronx Resource Center members who attended and thanks to Victor of VMV Entertainment for giving us music to dance to and helping our program and slideshow run smoothly.

Thank you, Janelle, Rose, and the matriarch, Miss Vivienne of Miss Vivienne’s Catering for your smiles, effort, and coconut sweet potatoes! Thank you, Angel, from BYMarquez for the beautiful photos, Gunhill Beer for the Bronx-brewed selection, and to FBHC for preserving the beautiful stained glass in Serviam Hall which offered a lovely photo backdrop for our event!

People Power – Public and Private Commitments – Perseverance – Change – Research & Action – Collaboration – Community Development