NEW YORK, NY – August 13, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) today approved two grants totaling $900,000 to renovate 132 homes in the Southern Tier and Nearby counties.
“These grants will improve the housing stock in the Southern Tier and the quality of life for its residents,” said Priscilla Almodovar, AHC President and Chief Executive Officer. “It reinforces the Paterson administration’s goal of making New York State a better place to live and work.”
Near Westside Neighborhood Association
AHC approved a $300,000 grant to the Near Westside Neighborhood Association, Inc. (NWNA) for the rehabilitation of 20 homes in the City of Elmira.
The grant will be used to correct foundation and structural problems; replace roofs, doors, windows, siding, and porches; upgrade electrical, heating and plumbing systems; and replace deficient water and septic systems. The funds will also be used to make units handicap-accessible.
Qualified applicants will be placed on a waiting list and selected based on the nature of the repair and the availability of other funding. Applicants whose housing poses a serious health, safety, or structural threat will be given priority. The grant awards will be limited to households earning up to $49,728 for a family of four in Chemung County.
The total cost of the project is $500,000. In addition to the AHC grant, the project will receive $20,000 in HOME funds provided by the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) and $150,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds provided by the City of Elmira.
Sheen Housing Home Repair Program
AHC approved a $600,000 grant to the Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation for the rehabilitation of 112 single-family homes in 12 counties in Western New York, including Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins, Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates Counties.
The funds will be used to help eliminate housing conditions that adversely affect the health and safety of occupants, such as: contaminated water supplies, unsanitary septic system, unsafe heating and electrical systems, or conditions that can cause accidents. Applicants will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis with special emphasis placed on repairs of an emergency nature.
The grants will be limited to households earning no more than $49,190 for a family of four in Allegany, Schuyler, and Yates; $52,774 for a family of four in Cayuga; $49,728 for a family of four in Chemung; $59,584 for a family of four in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario and Wayne; $51,251 for a family of four in Seneca; $52,506 for a family of four in Tioga; and $64,333 for a family of four in Tompkins.
The total cost of the project is $1.6 million. In addition to the AHC grant, the project will be funded by $360,000 in Access to Home funds provided by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation; $500,000 in HOME funds provided by the NYS Division of Housing & Community Renewal (DHCR); $90,000 in Rural Development funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and $50,000 in Emergency Home Repair funds provided by Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation.
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AHC, a subsidiary of the NYS Housing Finance Agency, was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households. Financial assistance approved annually by the New York State Legislature, combined with other private and public investment, is used for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement of owner-occupied housing.
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Contact: Philip Lentz
Director of Communications
212-872-0679
plentz (at) nyhomes (dot) org
