WINTER 2011 VOL. 29 NO. 1 Seven South Bronx Families Ring Out 2010 with Home Blessings at Our Colin Powell Apartments Valeria, left, and Julissa, right, bless their new homes in December. Meet the Delgado-DeJesus family on Page 5 >>Inside Habitat-NYC Seeks New Family Partners Page 6 Connie Sargent Retires Her Hard Hat Page 5 Building More than Ever! ‘100 Homes in Central Brooklyn’ Launches Our Most Innovative New Program Page 3 Construction Begins on St. John’s Residences Page 1 12 New Ocean Hill-Brownsville Homes On St. John’s Place Ring in 2011 M ore than 85,000 individuals – most of whom live close to the economic edge – are jammed into Eastern Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill-Brownsville neighborhood. According to the area’s Community Board 16, “permanent and affordable housing continues to be a high priority for our community.” Our St. John’s Residences, Habitat-NYC’s newest development in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Brooklyn, will help provide a solution These new-construction condos will become home to a dozen low-income families, who will live in affordable, two- and three-bedroom condos units. In keeping with our commitment to green building, these homes will meet LEED and ENERGY STAR standards and ensure healthy environments and cost-saving fuel efficiency. St. John’s Residences are HabitatNYC’s first new-construction initiative developed with partial funding from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). Established under the Recovery Act of 2009, the program’s goal is to help revive neighborhoods like Ocean Hill-Brownsville that have been hit hard by foreclosure and abandonment (see related 100 St. John’s Place Project Continued on page 3 1 Photo by Anthony Collins Habitat-NYC TIMES w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g From the Executive Director Habitat-NYC Board of Directors Rev. Mark Hallinan, Chair Society of Jesus (Jesuits), New York Province Karim Hutson, Vice Chair Genesis Partners Real Property, LLC Nia Rock, Vice Chair Sovereign Bank Neil Bader, Treasurer Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company, Inc. Christine McGuinness, Secretary Schiff Hardin LLP Jennifer Armstrong Hemlock Group David Bach FinishRich Media Evan Bauer DealerTrack, Inc. Robert Burch A.W. Jones Company Charisse Ford The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. Carmen Gellineau JPMorgan Aileen Gribbin Forsyth Street Advisors, LLC Chris Hoeffel Investcorp International Inc. Jeff Infusino Oliver Wyman Financial Services John Isaacs CB Richard Ellis Rabbi Bob Kaplan CAUSE-NY / JCRC Peter Knitzer Shauna Long FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation Peter Murray C&C Affordable Management LLC Martha Parrish Doug Paul Credit Suisse Douglas Renfield-Miller Andie Simon Warner Brothers Records The Rev. Thomas Synan Church of the Heavenly Rest Judy Teeven American Express Travel David Terveen DK Display Corp. Zali Win Credit Agricole Rev. Johnny Youngblood Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church Josh Lockwood Executive Director 111 John Street, 23rd Floor New York, NY 10038 Tel: (212) 991-4000 www.habitatnyc.org 2 T hree hardworking low-income families, each with twins . . . An Eastern European couple with three daughters, crammed into a one-bedroom apartment . . . A South Asian father living with his family in a dilapidated space his landlord won’t repair . . . A grandmother eagerly performing “sweat equity” with Habitat-NYC after finishing a double shift at her nursing home job. If you are volunteering in BedfordStuyvesant with Habitat-NYC this winter, these are just some of the people you will meet. A Habitat-NYC build site is a place where you’ll find big-hearted New York City volunteers donating their precious spare time to help construct affordable homes. But you’ll also find a dynamic mix of family partner homebuyers working right alongside these volunteers. These families come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, but in committing hundreds of hours of sweat equity to build their homes, they forge lasting bonds with volunteers, with the Habitat-NYC staff and with one another. On a recent build day, I spent time working with Dorota and Slawek Karpinski. Dorota and Slawek are committing 300 hours each to construct their new three-bedroom condominium in Bed-Stuy, which will provide a life-changing opportunity for their family to move from a severely overcrowded situation. Dorota and Slawek were working alongside Marion Smith, grandmother of a 2-year old and mother of two daughters. I was painting with Marion when I learned she had just come off a 16-hour-shift at the nursing home where she works, but she was so eager to fulfill her sweat equity requirements for Habitat, that she jumped at the chance to work. Marion’s family is “living like a tin of sardines” in a small one-bedroom unit, and they can’t wait to have a three-bedroom home of their own on nearby Lafayette Street. Our hardworking family partner homebuyers represent the best of New York City: a diverse cross-section of hardworking folks seeking the American Dream. Your generosity, through donations and volunteerism, has made their journey possible. Thank you! Tired of Searching for Parking Spaces? Turn Your Car into a Habitat-NYC Home I t doesn’t take a lot of magic to transform your unwanted vehicle into an affordable home for New York City families. Just one phone call or a click of your mouse will do the trick! Our Cars for Homes program, the nation’s most trusted car donation program, is operated through Habitat for Humanity International. It’s easy — and faster than circling the block. Simply dial Cars for Homes at 1-877-277-4344 or submit your information online at www.habitatnyc.org. Habitat will process all the forms, arrange to pick up your vehicle and provide a tax-deduction letter. Habitat for Humanity - New York City transforms lives and our city by building quality homes for families in need and by uniting all New Yorkers around the cause of affordable housing. w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g Building Blocks — and Community — in Brooklyn 2011: A Hundred Habitat-NYC Homes Coming to Central Brooklyn H abitat-NYC is welcoming the new year with the launch of one of the most innovative and far-reaching projects in our 25-year history: 100 Homes in Central Brooklyn. These affordable, green co-ops and condos will include homes in currently vacant buildings scattered throughout these historic neighborhoods. Habitat-NYC is using federal NSP2 funds (see St. John’s article, page 1) to purchase and renovate the buildings, and volunteers and future homeowners will refurbish them. The initiative is unique: • NSP2 funding allows Habitat-NYC to purchase long-vacant housing – buildings that undermine the safety and vitality of their blocks; • Habitat-NYC will be able to acquire and restore homes quickly and in larger quantities than we typically produce housing. By 2013, Habitat-NYC will build or renovate 100 NSP2 homes in Central Brooklyn; • All of these affordable homes will be constructed to high green building standards. As important, these 100 homes include a strong commitment to strengthening Bedford-Stuyvesant and surrounding lowincome Central Brooklyn neighborhoods – communities that have been ravaged by the recession, foreclosure and abandonment. Habitat-NYC has a high stake in helping to stabilize Bedford-Stuyvesant and nearby communities. With the help of thousands of volunteers from business, faith groups and individuals across NYC, we have built 50 homes in Bed-Stuy and 41 in Ocean Hill- Brownsville. We are committed to ensuring that our local homeowner families continue to live in a secure environment. In addition to rebuilding these homes, Habitat-NYC is partnering with established community groups to expand our volunteerled Brush with Kindness initiatives in Bed-Stuy to help repair essential community spaces and increase our Loan Rangers financial literacy programs to neighborhood residents. Habitat-NYC has targeted a number of vacant buildings to be restored to affordable housing through the 100 Homes in Central Brooklyn initiative. The first include: • 475 Monroe Street, an eight-unit, fourstory building between Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Lewis Avenue; • 203 Marion Street, a three-story walk-up that will be renovated into six homes; • 849 Halsey Street, a six-unit, three-story walk-up building. 203 Marion Street 849 Halsey Street 475 Monroe Street St. John’s Residences Begin Construction Continued from page 1 Homes in Central Brooklyn article above). Habitat-NYC will match the NSP2 funds with private dollars, city funds and a construction loan from Amalgamated Bank. The Office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is among the project’s funders. These four-story buildings will rise on three long-vacant lots – neighborhood eyesores that the city’s Department of Housing 3 Preservation and Development (HPD) sold to Habitat-NYC for $12,000. Markowitz said: “With the St. John’s Residences – and previously the Atlantic Avenue Residence, the largest Habitat development in New York City – HabitatNYC is helping deserving Brooklyn families achieve the ‘American Dream’ of home ownership in Ocean Hill-Brownsville. I am proud to support the construction of these affordable condos and salute the selfless volunteers with Habitat-NYC for their ‘sweat equity’ – building energy-efficient, ‘green’ homes to ensure a future that’s not only affordable, but sustainable.” Construction began in January, and Habitat-NYC plans to have volunteers and family partners working on the St. John’s Residences in the fall. The homes are expected to be finished by early 2012. w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g Corporate, Foundation, Government and Faith Contributions January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010 $100,000 and Up Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Citi Corporation for National & Community Service Credit Suisse Delta Air Lines, Inc. Goldman, Sachs & Co. Housing Partnership Development Corporation New York State Affordable Housing Corporation PepsiCo U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. $50,000 to $99,999 American Express BNY Mellon Bloomberg Guardian Life Insurance Company of America JPMorgan Chase & Co. Ketchum Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Starr International Foundation $25,000 to $49,999 Deutsche Bank Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation New York State Homes & Community Renewal Polo Ralph Lauren $10,000 to $24,999 Archstone Bank of America Charles Spear Charitable Trust Collegiate Church Corporation Duff & Phelps E*Trade Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. General Electric Capital Hope For New York, Redeemer Presbyterian Church ING Financial Services LLC LaCrosse Global Fund Services, LLC Lamb & Barnosky, LLP M&T Charitable Foundation Macmillan Mellam Family Foundation Moody’s Foundation New York State Energy Research & Development Authority NYSE Euronext Oldcastle, Inc. Oliver Wyman Financial Services Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims PricewaterhouseCoopers Schwab Charitable Fund Scripps Howard Foundation Sovereign Bank Staten Island Foundation Travelers Company, Inc. $5,000 to $9,999 Alston & Bird LLP Anonymous AON Global Artio Global Investors Avenue Capital Group BBR Partners LLC Brick Presbyterian Church Brookfield Properties Corporation CA Technologies Capital One Foundation, Inc. Church of the Heavenly Rest Community Development Trust Concord Baptist Church of Christ Corbin Capital Partners LP Debevoise & Plimpton LLP Forsyth Street Advisors LLC Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP IAC/InterActive Corp Legg Mason & Co. LLC Liquidnet Holdings Inc. Lowe’s Mizuho Trust & Banking Company Monadnock Construction N.S. Bienstock Inc New York City Transit Authority SWIFT Pan-Americas, Inc Thomson Reuters Trinity Church Wall Street U.S. Bank NA William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Yahoo! $1,000 to $4,999 Albee Partitions Anbinder Foundation Avon Products Foundations Inc. Ayco Charitable Foundation Bank Leumi USA Bethlehem Lutheran Church Broadway United Church Of Christ Cambridge Corporate Services Common Cents New York, Inc. Dattner & Partners Architects PC Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation DHD Windows & Doors LLC Dobson Foundation, Inc. Domani Consulting Dynamic Resources, Inc. Enterprise New York Ernst & Young Fabric Traditions Federated Garden Clubs of NYS Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills First Queens Abstract Corporation Grace Church Brooklyn Heights Houlihan Lokey Hudson Companies, Inc. IGX Construction Inner Circle Sports Jacob Bluestein Foundation Jemco Erectors Inc. Jewish Communal Fund Kreilick Family Foundation, Inc. Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, PC Maison Gerard Ltd. Malcolm Gibbs Foundation, Inc. Mariner Investment Group Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. McGraw-Hill Companies MCR Restoration Corp MLJ Painting Corp. Moen Incorporated Mount Pisgah Baptist Church New York Mets Newmark & Company Real Estate Park Avenue United Methodist Church Queens High School of Teaching Rathe Associates Ridgewood Savings Bank Room & Board Sigma Contracting Corp. Smedco, Inc. St. James’ Church State Farm Insurance Sterling National Bank UBMi Princeton LLC Venable Foundation, Inc. Wagner Davis PC West End Collegiate Church Xaverian High School - Habitat Chapter Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Assoc. Campus Chapters Bring Holiday Cheer to B’klyn Kids D espite freezing temperatures and record snowfall, the winter has been a season of warmth for many students at P.S. 54 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Habitat-NYC’s Youth and Community Relations AmeriCorps member, Jazmine Raveneau, led our Campus Chapters in a toy, jacket and book drive for low-income students at the school. Habitat-NYC’s Campus Chapters collected more than 100 toys, books and winter coats for the elementary school. Jazmine has done much to promote and expand Habitat-NYC’s student presence. Four new schools have joined the HabitatNYC Campus Chapters alliance since the beginning of the school year. In 15 high schools and colleges across New York City, hundreds of students are fundraising, building and educating their communities about Habitat-NYC’s mission and the city’s dire need for affordable homes. Jazmine even created a new Facebook page to give members of our Campus Chapters a common space to share their experiences, thoughts and ideas. “Like” us at Habitat-NYC Campus Chapters. If you know of a school interested in establishing a Campus Chapters program, please e-mail Jazmine at JRaveneau@habitatnyc.org. Founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that welcomes people of all beliefs to join in its mission. 4 w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g Connie Sargent Retires Her Hard Hat Connie at a Habitat-NYC build, circa 2002 Photo by Anthony Collins A fter the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, Connie Sargent felt she needed to reassess her life. “I was looking for something more meaningful,” she says. Habitat-NYC’s former office was located only blocks from her home. “I just walked in and said, ‘Is there anything I can do?’” Indeed there was, and we put Connie to work, using her extensive PR skills to help publish our first annual report. And she continued working with us, assisting the executive director, overseeing PR and communications efforts, organizing fundraisers and events, and in 2005, moving on to the Board of Directors. We have managed to keep Connie busy for a decade. In that time, she has gotten to work closely with Habitat-NYC’s family partners while also helping to build Habitat homes and communities across New York City and around the world. “I was really, really inspired when I went to India [with a Jimmy Carter Work Project]. You become so close to the family and you’re working literally in their house every day.” She was one of 3,000 volunteers helping to build 100 new homes. “It was AWESOME,” says Connie. “I mean that in the real meaning of the world. AWESOME.” Her dedication, leadership and warmth have been her signature over the course of the last decade. From hanging drywall to chairing the first million-dollar gala, she has done everything from painting walls to profiling family partners to finding HabitatNYC a new home on the World Wide Web and in lower Manhattan. But though Connie is retiring from Habitat-NYC, she is not slowing down. She just completed a degree in teaching English as a second language. “I’m teaching refugees at an international rescue organization,” she says. “What was most amazing was the tangible part of Habitat where you actually know the families. And that’s what I’m looking for in this next job.” A Room of Her Own Xiomara Delgado-DeJesus Looks Forward to Privacy, Security 5 “Without Habitat, I could never afford to own a home,” says Xiomara, a single mother who works for a real estate management company and is well aware of challenges of buying a home on a modest salary. The Delgado-DeJesus family was among the seven families who dedicated their new Habitat-NYC homes in December. With keys in hand, the families are awaiting the final paperwork so they can call up the moving company. That day can’t come fast enough for Xiomara, who says that her family is thrilled to soon have more space and a safe and wellconstructed affordable home. Her girls are “very excited and can’t wait to move in” to their new, healthy and very purple room. Xiomara Delgado-DeJesus and her daughters, Valeria and Julissa in their new home Photo by Anthony Collins F or pretty much her whole life — all 10 years of it – Valeria DeJesus has shared the same tiny bedroom with her sister, Julissa, 13. Each morning, the girls open their eyes and are greeted by the wide, branching network of cracks that spread across their ceiling and the ever-expanding bloom of leaks that pouch out and peel the old, bland paint. In the living room next to them, mom Xiomara Delgado-DeJesus had carved out a small, make-shift space to create her own “bedroom.” Because her landlord is slow to fix problems, Xiomara does most of her own repairs. No wonder Valeria and Julissa danced across the floor, smiles bright and glowing, the first time they visited their new HabitatNYC home in our General Colin L. Powell Apartments. They will still share a bedroom — but this one is sunny, cheerful and pristine. The girls have already agreed to decorate their new room in all purple, their favorite color. Xiomara will have her own bedroom — a real bedroom — that will finally afford her some privacy! w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g Photos by Anthony Collins Builder Awards Is Night Full of Hearts & Stars H abitat-NYC’s 2010 Builder Awards raised friends, fun and more than $850,000 to help build future Habitat homes. Pictured here, from top left are: Board Members (emeritus and present) Claudia Machaver, Shauna Long, Maureen McPhilmy and Connie Sargent; Richard Wong Faith-in-Action Award winner Elise Chong (Hope for New York) with Board Chair Father Mark Hallinan; Jon Campbell of Wells Fargo and actress Emily Bergl; Family Partners Theresa Lyde, Darlene Tye and Olufemi Agboola; Innovators of the Year Brian Lawlor, Judd Levy and Marian Zucker of NYS Homes and Community Renewal with Board Member Doug Paul; actress Susan Sarandon and artist Todd Oldham; Josh Lockwood with Susan Sarandon and Family Partners of the Year Delila and Esther Huambo; Board Members David Terveen and Carmen Gellineau; and Esther and Delila Huambo with former Mets relief pitcher, John Franco. Calling All Families: Habitat-NYC Seeks Homeowners O ne of the greatest contributions a Habitat-NYC supporter can make to our shared work is to connect HabitatNYC with a hardworking family in need who desires a homeownership opportunity. And right now, there are more opportunities than ever before for hardworking, low-income families to earn a Habitat-NYC condominium or co-op. As we acquire and build an unprecedented number of safe, green, 6 Habitat-NYC homes, we are generating more homeowner opportunities. That’s why we’re calling on all of our friends to help spread the word about our expanded work in Central Brooklyn. To be eligible, families must meet these basic criteria: • First-time homeowners; • Gross income between 50% to 80% of federal Area Median Income ($35,650$57,050 for a family of three); • FICO credit score of 620 or higher; • Willing to provide “sweat equity;” • Willing to take homeownership and financial management courses. If you know a family who may be interested, please tell them to learn about our homes by going to our website, www.habitatnyc.org, and clicking on “Own a Habitat Home.” Details and applications are available online. They can also call us at (212) 991-4000, ext. 327. w w w. h a b i t a t n y c . o r g