Did you happen to miss last night’s FOX 5 / Fox5NY.com coverage of Jericho Project, the Walton Avenue groundbreaking and our very own resident Lisa Spencer? Not to worry. You can check out Liz Dahlem‘s piece right here! Executive Director, Tori Lyon, talks to Liz about the important work we do here offering housing to homeless veterans and aiding them in getting their lives back on track.
(l-r) Jennifer Trapinski, Benjamin Charvat, MOVA Commissioner Loree Sutton, Tori Lyon, Lisa Spencer, Maurice Coleman, HPD Commissioner Vicki Been, Eric Bederman and Lynthia Romney at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for Jericho Project’s new residence on 2065 Walton Avenue. – Photo by Silvio Pacifico
A once vacant lot on Walton Avenue will now provide homeless veterans and young people with a new lease on life.
On Tuesday, July 7, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and New York City Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs joined Jericho Project, B & B Supportive and other partners in announcing the construction of Walton Avenue, Jericho’s largest-to-date veterans and supportive housing residence in the borough.
Located at 2065 Walton Avenue, the new 90-unit residence will be built on a 7,500-square foot parcel within close proximity to the Burnside Avenue shopping area.
It will cost approximately $30.6 million to construct.
The residence is financed under Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough, 10-Year Housing Plan which aims to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing and has received additional financial support from HPD, Bank of America, NYC Employee Retirement System, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the Home Depot Foundation and Citi.
Working with B & B Supportive LLC, Walton Avenue is Jericho’s eighth supportive housing residence, its third veterans residence and its first residence for young adults focusing on the vulnerable LGBT population.
“This is a landmark moment for Jericho Project as we deepen our commitment to veterans and extend our services to young adults who are in dire need of housing and support,” Tori Lyon, Jericho Project executive director expressed.
The new residence will have 33 supportive housing units for young adults ages 18 through 25 from Community Board 5 via referrals from BronxWorks, Covenant House and other local non-profits working with young adults in need.
Unique to Walton Avenue is its special focus on LGBT young adults who are more likely to be homeless and to have suffered from domestic violence.
In addition to housing homeless young adults, Walton Avenue will provide 56 units for homeless veterans referred by the Bronx VA Medical Center.
All apartments here will be affordable to people earning an annual income at or below $18,150 and rents will be subsidized using federal HUD-Veterans Supportive Housing vouchers for veteran units and Project-based Section 8 vouchers from NYCHA for young adult units to ensure that tenants will only need to pay 30% of their income towards rent.
“We are committed to ending both veteran homelessness by the end of this calendar year and protecting LGBT youth on the brink of homelessness and we are proud to collaborate with the Jericho Project initiative whose daily work provides supportive services and affordable housing for homeless veterans and LGBT youth,” NYC Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor shared.
Walton Avenue will feature community rooms, computer access including free Wi-Fi, office space for social services, landscaped outdoor space with seating furniture, laundry facilities, full-time 24-hour front desk security coverage and an on-site maintenance staff and property manager.
Jericho will provide tenants here with a full range of services including case management, individual and group counseling, employment and educational assistance, family reunification and social activities.
Information and referral services will include job training, educational programs, primary health care, substance abuse treatment, and mental health treatment.
Various workshops, health fairs, computer classes and other events will also be scheduled at this new residence and open to members of the community.
Walton Avenue is slated for a projected February 2017 completion, according to Lyon.
The City of New York is hell-bent on ending homelessness in the five boroughs by the end of 2015, and 2065 Walton Ave. brings it closer to reaching its goal.
The project is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio Administration’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough, 10-Year Housing Plan, the most comprehensive affordable housing plan in the city’s history. Multiple corporations and organizations showed their support for the project; Citi made a $40,000 contribution, The Home Depot Foundation donated $500,000, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided $17.6 million in debt and tax credit in support of 2065 Walton Ave.
The 10-story building at 2065 Walton will incorporate 56 apartments for homeless veterans referred by the Bronx VA Medical Center, as well as 33 apartments that will serve young adults ages 18-25 from the Bronx Community Board 5, via referrals from BronxWorks, Covenant House and other local non-profit groups. The project will direct special attention towards the LGBT homeless youth population, according to Gilbert Taylor, NYC Department of Homeless Services Commissioner.
“We are committed to ending both veteran homelessness by the end of this calendar year and protecting LGBT youth on the brink of homelessness, and we are proud to collaborate with the Jericho Project initiative whose daily work provides supportive services and affordable housing for homeless veterans and LGBT youth,” said Taylor.
