Views from the Northwest Bronx

Data is currency; it has an economic worth that can be purchased, traded and leveraged. Individuals and entities have always leveraged information to create opportunity. OpenData seeks to equalize the balance of power by increasing accessibility to municipal data.

For most Bronx residents, affordable housing means the housing that they live in now, but many Bronx residents are on the verge of becoming homeless; struggling to get by, facing high rent burdens and compensating through overcrowded living situations.

UNHP’s Bronx Free Tax Preparation Program filed taxes for 1,501 people with 1,725 filed returns, trained 84 student volunteers, and delivered $1.9 million dollars of fee-free refunds back to the Bronx.

The UNHP Free Tax Preparation Program depends on the generosity of our college student volunteers. Students from Fordham University, Manhattan College and Lehman College take a 15 hour on-line training as well as an 8 hour in person training before they begin working with tax filers. Meet Maimouna, one of our 80 student volunteers, who have trained for the UNHP program in 2015.

Housing, especially rental housing in New York City, exists with two purposes: to provide homes for people and families, and to be bought, sold and rented as commodities. Most of the battles around housing arise in the tension between these two purposes.

When people attend a workshop on paying for college in the midst of an arctic blast, you know that the issues of college affordability and student debt are important ones.

Our blog has been a little quiet in 2015 and no we have not been hibernating – we have been so busy preserving distressed multifamily housing and delivering a wide range of financial services in the Northwest Bronx that we have not had time to brag about it!

West Farms Social Services joined forces with University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP) to host a well- attended Credit and Savings Extravaganza at the West Farms Square affordable housing development on Wednesday, November 5th from 1 to 7pm.

Summer 2014 was a time for financial learning at local senior affordable housing projects and at community group offices near our Northwest Bronx Resource Center.

UNHP's 2014 Free Tax Preparation Program was a resounding success! UNHP and our partners Ariva and Fordham Bedford Community Services helped clients receive $1.7 million in fee-free refunds, and access our wide range of financial education programs. Over 80 VITA trained student volunteers from Fordham University and Manhattan College provided the tax power for our program. As UNHP's 2014 tax season draws to a close, we reflect on the privilege of meeting and assisting over 1,400 residents in our community.