Bethpage, NY Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities (ACLD) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas celebrated the groundbreaking of Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC on the campus of ACLD. The new community, located at 807 South Oyster Bay Rd., will include 36 affordable apartments for low- and moderate-income households for people age 62 or older with incomes up to 50% and 60% of the area median income, plus 12 apartments for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities age 21 or older with incomes up to 50% of the area median income.
The total development cost of Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC is $18.9 million. New York State’s investment includes $9.5 million through HCR’s Housing Finance Agency’s tax-exempt bonds, its New Construction Program loan of $5 million, $2.2 million through its Supportive Housing Opportunity Program, an allocation of Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and $2.25 million in capital construction loans provided by OPWDD which will also provide rental subsidy assistance for the 12 supportive units.
Fusion Architecture handled building design. The development and construction of the building is being overseen by ACLD.
The ceremony was led by ACLD executive director Robert Goldsmith, HCR commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, Long Island regional director of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) Jacquelyn Best and Nassau County executive Laura Curran.
Visnauskas said, “Oyster Bay Gardens will provide 48 households with the opportunity to get the affordable housing they need to take part in our growing economy and live independently in the community they love. Thanks to the State’s $20 billion, five-year housing plan, we are investing in projects like this across the State and right here in Bethpage, where they play an important role in keeping the Long Island economy moving forward.”
The three-story Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC will include a laundry room with washers and dryers on each of floor, and a common area on the first floor which will include a community room, computer room, exercise room, storage room and lounge.
Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC is near local bus lines, the Long Island Railroad, retail shops, dining and restaurants, convenience stores, and government offices. An added benefit for the residents of Oyster Bay Gardens is its proximity to the Charles Evans Center (CEC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) on the grounds of ACLD’s campus. CEC provides medical, dental, psychiatry, neurology and behavioral health services and is part of a network of FQHC’s led by Hudson River Health Care, a leading safety net provider serving Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
The development is part of governor Andrew Cuomo’s unprecedented $20 billion, five-year plan to create or preserve more than 100,000 affordable homes and 6,000 homes with supportive services. Since 2011, HCR has provided $266 million in resources to build or preserve more than 2,200 affordable homes on Long Island.
“At ACLD, we are dedicated to improving the lives of the people we support and provide them with opportunities to live an exceptional and enviable life,” said Robert Goldsmith, ACLD executive director. “ We have made it our mission and priority to lead the effort on Long Island to secure resources to build safe and supportive housing environments for those with special needs as well as those who face affordable housing challenges.”
Founded in 1957, ACLD is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit agency whose mission is to provide opportunities to more than 3,000 children and adults with autism, learning and developmental disabilities to pursue enviable lives, promote independence and foster supportive relationships within the community. ACLD employs more than 1,300 people and operates 80 different program sites including community residences and apartment programs across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Services include early childhood services, day habilitation, residential alternatives, vocational training and job placement, recreation programs, respite, family support services, and occupational, speech and physical therapies.
The mission of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is to build, preserve and protect affordable housing and increase home ownership across the state. HCR is charged with carrying out the Governor’s $1 billion HOUSE NY plan, by leveraging New York’s Federal and State community development resources, creating affordable housing opportunities Statewide. HCR programs provide financing to create and preserve multifamily housing; administer programs to improve housing conditions, ensure accessibility, and save energy; bonding authority and other resources to facilitate local public improvements and job creation; and help thousands of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers purchase a home.
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