Mayoral candidate Garcia visits The Doe Fund’s affordable and supportive housing

New York, NY On Friday, mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia toured Webster Green, one of 11 affordable and supportive housing residences developed and operated by The Doe Fund.

“This is what we need to do,” said Garcia of Webster Green during her visit. “We have the model.”

After touring a tenant’s apartment, Garcia tweeted in a thread, “Damian had been homeless for a while before moving into The Doe Fund’s Webster Green residence in the Bronx. “Now he has an apartment that looks and feels like home. Housing is a right. People like Damian lead healthier, happier lives when they have stable, affordable housing. When I’m mayor we’ll move to a fully permanent housing strategy. I look forward to working with The Doe Fund to get this done.”

If elected, Garcia has proposed creating 50,000 units of deeply affordable housing at under 50% area median income as well as legalizing more basement and single-room occupancy apartments as part of her Housing That Heals plan.

The Doe Fund’s executive vice president John McDonald said, “Right now, there is simply no vehicle to build truly affordable housing for those who need it most in New York City. The Mayoral candidates have vowed to address this crisis, and the Housing That Heals plan in particular will promote an inclusive recovery as NYC thrives again post-pandemic. We’re grateful for Kathryn’s long standing commitment to the people we serve.”

As the city’s former sanitation commissioner, Garcia has been a longtime supporter of The Doe Fund’s most visible social enterprise, its Community Improvement Project. Through the organization’s Ready, Willing & Able reentry program—which provides paid work, housing, career training, and supportive services to formerly homeless and incarcerated men—participants well-known as the Men in Blue clean over 115 miles of streets daily.

“I have been lucky enough to get to know The Doe Fund and the tremendous work they do in helping people get opportunity for a fresh start, and for those who are unhoused to get back on their feet in housing that gives them the dignity they deserve,” Garcia said at The Doe Fund’s Graduation event in April. “The Doe Fund’s motto is ‘Work Works,’ and that’s exactly the mentality and example that our next Mayor needs to take to City Hall.”

Designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, PC to achieve LEED Gold status in sustainability, Webster Green’s features include ground floor offices for on-site supportive services, community spaces for hosting classes and events, lounges overlooking the Bronx Botanical Gardens, a laundry room, and a spacious lobby. The residence offers a groundbreaking new vision that challenges preconceived notions of what affordable and supportive housing can be. Webster Green won the Building Award from the Queens Bronx Building Association in 2019 and the Best in American Living Award from the National Association of Home Builders in 2020.

Tenants of Webster Green have been grateful for the top-tier services and amenities provided by the residence. “I moved in here with nothing, so it means a lot to me,” said Terria Smith.

After experiencing over a year of homelessness in the neighborhood before moving in, Smith is thankful not just for a roof over her head that she can afford, but also the full suite of supportive services the residence offers. “We all came in here with different problems. Mental issues. And they [The Doe Fund] try to give whatever support they can give,” she said.

Another resident, Carmen Cavallero, said, “[Webster Green] is my lovely world. Thank God. I love this place.”