Federal bucks are on their way to West Harlem.
Last Friday, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced that stimulus funds would be diverted directly to the West Harlem Group Assistance Unity Apartments—one of 10 affordable housing developments throughout the city to receive these dollars.
The funds are part of the Tax Credit Assistance Program of the stimulus package, and the WHGA was chosen as one of three units in Manhattan to receive the boost of $339,678.
“This TCAP funding is exactly the kind of critical resource the industry needs to help keep projects moving, get ground broken, and put hardworking people into quality affordable housing,” HPD Commissioner Rafael Cestero said in a press release. “These new projects will add an additional 600 units of affordable housing and will further strengthen and stabilize the neighborhoods we serve.”
This marks the second round of funding from the stimulus package for citywide affordable housing, and for WHGA, the funds will be used for the rehabilitation of 17 units, at 60 percent or below the area median income.
The Unity Apartments—located on 168 W. 121st St,, 121 W. 133rd St,, and 268 W. 134th St.—fall under the jurisdiction of WHGA, a community-based development committee devoted to revitalizing West Harlem and keeping the area affordable for lower to moderate-income residents.
For Melvin Christian, housing chair of Community Board 10 in Harlem, these funds are a welcome stimulus for the West Harlem area. “Any time you can get funds for affordable housing, it’s a good thing because of the economic environment right now,” Christian said.
“The state of affordable housing right now is not very good, and as the West Harlem community continues to grow, the need for affordable housing is greater now than ever,” Christian added.
He said that while these funds are a decisive step toward creating more affordable housing in the area, “We must continue to explore every avenue there is for keeping housing affordable.”
HGA and HPD did not return multiple calls for comment.
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