Commissioner VanAmerongen Unveils New Video: Municipal Leaders Speaking Out- Affordable Housing Works!
No matter how we define the boundaries of New York State- whether it be cities, towns, village, or hamlets-we are essentially a state of communities. Some are urban, some rural and some suburban.
But regardless of how different our communities are from one another, all are made stronger and healthier by an ample supply of affordable housing. Affordable housing is the first step to strong communities.
View the video: "Municipal Leaders Speak Out: Affordable Housing Works!" (Size: 72.9 MB)
These lines introduce DHCR's newest video presentation entitled: Municipal Leaders Speak Out-Affordable Housing Works!
DHCR unveiled this video at the Association of Towns Annual Meeting on Monday, February 16th in New York City, and will present it again at the NY Conference of Mayors Winter Legislative Conference on Monday, February 23rd in Albany. It features municipal leaders speaking out about the positive impact of affordable housing on communities and quality of life.
Commissioner VanAmerongen said, "I'm grateful for this opportunity to reach audiences of municipal leaders with a message from their colleagues from around the state. The support of municipalities on every level is critical to our ability to create and preserve affordable housing opportunities in New York."
This latest video presentation is part of DHCR's ongoing campaign to dispel many myths associated with affordable housing and demonstrate the far-reaching benefits that affordable housing has on cities, towns, and villages.
Last summer DHCR worked with Tiki Barber of Tiki Ventures, Edward Norton of Enterprise Community Partners, and Mo Vaughn of Omni NY on a series of public service commercials designed to promote the development of affordable housing throughout New York. The commercials ran for four weeks on radio and broadcast channels and garnered an Award for Excellence from the National Council of State Housing Agencies.
In conjunction with these announcements, DHCR developed a stand-alone website: Affordable Housing Works!. You can view the commercials and latest video, and see numerous examples of attractive, quality affordable housing at this site.
Commissioner VanAmerongen thanked those who participated in the video and are helping to spread that word that affordable housing works: Mayor Robert Duffy, City of Rochester; Mayor Paul Pontieri, Village of Patchogue; HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Allen Hipps, Executive Director of the Adirondack Community Housing Trust; Greg Wallace, Supervisor of the Town of Long Lake; and Susan Goetschius, former Mayor of Wellsville.
Rabito Discusses How Office of Community Renewal Can Help Revitalize Local Communities
Joe Rabito, Deputy Commissioner for DHCR's Office of Community Renewal, discussed the many resources available to local communities through the New York State Office of Community Renewal (NYSOCR).
NYSOCR administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program for the State of New York. The NYS CDBG Program provides financial assistance to eligible cities, towns, and villages with populations under 50,000 and counties with an area population under 200,000, in order to develop viable communities by providing decent, affordable housing, and suitable living environments, as well as expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.
The Office of Community Renewal also administers the New York Main Street Program, which provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to strengthen the economic vitality of the State's traditional Main Streets and neighborhoods. The NY Main Street grant program provides funds from the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) to business improvement districts and other not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers.
DHCR recently announced the availability of approximately $40 million in NYS Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the 2009 Annual Competitive Round Program and the Open Round Economic Development Programs, and approximately $5 million in New York Main Street (NYMS) funding for the 2009 Round.
Last Updated: 02/17/09