Federal sequestration – that grand game of “chicken” being played out in Washington – is finally having real world, destructive impact. Recently, HUD announced cuts to the rental subsidy program known as Section 8. The two agencies that administer vouchers for New York City – the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) – responded with their own program cuts.… Read more...
Do you hear that? The sound you hear is the beginning of a groundswell at the grassroots level that suggests change is coming. After decades of personalized misery expressed in bread lines, homelessness, ineffective justice, diminishing economic opportunity, and, for all practical purposes, the criminalization of poverty, people are beginning to connect with one another, identify common troubles, and seek public solutions.… Read more...
S
ummer is around the corner. And that can only mean one thing — it is almost time for Banana Kelly’s SUMMER CAMP!
As these images can attest our youth had an amazing experience last year. Banana Kelly’s summer camp provided children from the area with an opportunity to take day trips to local mu
seums and other cultural institutions where they were exposed to culture, history and technology. … Read more...
On a recent Saturday afternoon many residents at the Beck Street buildings volunteered their time and energies to clean up the garden spaces. Just in time for Spring!
It is raining today; and at the time I am writing this, it is raining very hard. Weather forecasts predict that in the next 24 hours we will get about ¾ to an inch of rain. And what does this mean?… Read more...
Yesterday, I attended a forum sponsored by University Neighborhood Housing Program and hosted by Fordham University. The occasion marked the 30th Anniversary of UNHP with the release of a report, Nowhere to Go: A Crisis of Affordability in the Bronx. … Read more...
In today’s New York Times David Gonzalez reports on Banana Kelly’s efforts to improve the conditions of several building along Kelly Street. Click this link to read the story. Renovation and Hope
Yesterday, March 21st, on a cold but clear day, Banana Kelly, along with its partners, Workforce Housing Advisors and Monadnock Construction, sponsored the grand re-opening of the Kelly Street Apartments. These five buildings, home to 79 families, were among the very worst buildings in the city, plagued by an abusive owner/speculator who allowed the buildings to fall into severe disrepair after pocketing millions in mortgage proceeds intended for upgrades and repairs.… Read more...
At a wonderful panel discussion this past Saturday at the Bronx Documentary Center — events@bronxdoc.org — an audience member complained about the lack of jobs and, in areas like the South Bronx, the need to decide between “job-creating” industrial development and the health of residents.… Read more...
