Federal Home Loan Bank awards $735,200 grant

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York awarded a $735,200 affordable housing grant to the Progress of Peoples Development Corp. to help finance the construction of the Caring Communities project, which will renovate 75 units of single-room occupancy housing for homeless individuals. New York Community Bank, a Home Loan Bank member, submitted the application for the funding. "This project will make safe and supportive housing opportunities available for New Yorkers who need it most. Just as importantly, the Caring Communities development will offer important skills training and job placement assistance needed to create a positive future for residents," said congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-12). "The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York clearly recognizes that it is the responsibility of the entire community to protect and serve our most vulnerable citizens." This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Federal Home Loan Banks' Affordable Housing Program (AHP), which was created by congress in 1989. Since the Program's inception, the Federal Home Loan Banks have provided more than $3.6 billion to facilitate more than 15,000 affordable housing projects across the nation. These grants have created nearly 670,000 units of affordable housing. At the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, AHP has supported more than 1,100 projects with grants totaling more than $320 million, creating more than 46,000 units of affordable housing and generating nearly $6 billion in total development costs. "With the support of Representative Velázquez and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, we are proud to partner with the Progress of Peoples Development Corporation to provide this vital housing," said John Adams, first senior vice president of New York Community Bank. "For 20 years, the Home Loan Bank of New York has been given the tremendous opportunity to work hand-in-hand with New York's esteemed elected officials, its locally-focused hometown banks and its terrific community organizations to bring safe, stable and affordable housing to the state," said Alfred DelliBovi, president and CEO of the Home Loan Bank. "It is an opportunity, and a partnership, that we are most grateful for." The $735,200 grant will be used to help fund the renovation, which will create 75 efficiency apartments, each with a private kitchenette and bathroom. The renovation plan will also create an on-site social service office, a community room and a congregate kitchen. Supportive services will be provided by the sponsor and include psychiatric rehabilitation assessment, case management, instruction in daily living skills, counseling, crisis intervention, and vocational training. Additional funding will be provided by the N.Y.C. Department of Housing Preservation and Development and HOME funds. The grant is part of a total of $16 million in AHP subsidies that the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York These grants will fund 39 housing projects that will generate 1,545 units of affordable housing in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. In January, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York awarded grants totaling $19.1 million to fund 51 housing projects that will generate 2,213 units of affordable housing and an anticipated $409.8 million in development costs. The Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Program, created in 1989, provides member community lenders with direct subsidies, which are passed on to qualified households through a sponsoring local non-profit organization. AHP financing is combined with other funding sources to create housing for moderate-, low- and very-low-income families. Program awardees receive this funding through semi-annual competitive rounds. Each competing project must be sponsored by a financial organization that is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank in partnership with a community-based sponsoring organization.