Nonprofit News and Comment

HOUSING

“Aid for Supportive Housing Boosted.” By Laura Kusisto. Wall Street Journal. June 6, 2012. City and state agencies are collaborating to create hundreds of new units of so-called supportive housing aimed at the homeless. The effort is a rare move to devote significant funds to the creation of new “affordable” housing that includes support services for residents at a time of severe government budget constraints. Supportive housing provides additional support services, such as an on-site coordinator to help residents with special needs to get counseling, benefits and employment assistance. The state has committed $75 million of funding for the first year to creating more supportive housing, which is expected to be paid for, in part, by Medicaid savings under an initiative by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Roughly a third of the new funding will be directed toward supportive housing in New York City. Under the new plan, the goal is to double the number of supportive housing units produced in New York City every year to 1,000 units from 500. This is the largest infusion of funding since the city and state launched the supportive housing program, known as NYNY3, in 2006. The New York State Homes and Community Renewal will join with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the city Housing Development Corp. and the New York City Housing Authority. The program also continues a move by different agencies and levels of government to coordinate more on the creation of affordable housing. The state primarily will put up the funds, while the New York City Housing Authority will offer land and vouchers and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development will provide financing.

HOUSING

“Buildings Once Institutional, Now Exclusive.” By Fred A. Bernstein. New York Times. January 19, 2012. There have been times in New York’s history, in response to economic downturns, when large apartments have been split up into smaller units. This is not one of those times. At 607 Hudson Street in the West Village, a red brick building that was once the Village Nursing Home is being converted to condominiums by Flank, a design and development company in Chelsea. Not long ago, 607 Hudson housed some 200 residents, but soon it will be just 10 apartments, each with 3,200 to 9,600 square feet. And at 18 Gramercy Park South, where for more than 40 years the Parkside Evangeline Residence provided affordable housing for women, what had been a 300-bedroom building is being converted into 17 condos, each of 4,500 square feet or more. The creation of a small number of luxury units from buildings that once housed multitudes may seem incongruous, but developers say the decision to build large apartments is driven by the market. Indeed, there are many indications that the demand for super-high-end apartments is strong. In Manhattan below 34th Street, 27 condos of $5 million to $10 million sold in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 50 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Sofia Song, the vice president for research at Streeteasy.com. Mick Walsdorf, a partner at Flank, said that the dimensions of the former nursing home, with three street frontages and four exposures, were conducive to sprawling units, as was the location, in one of the most picturesque parts of the West Village. The conversion of public or institutional buildings into upper-class housing has a long history in New York. The former police headquarters at 240 Centre Street is a condo building, as are the former Y.M.C.A. on West 23rd Street and several former school buildings around the city. The onetime New York Lying-In Hospital, at 305 Second Avenue, is the Rutherford Place condos. To housing advocates, those conversions represent a victory for the wealthy. Jerilyn Perine, the executive director of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, an advocacy group, said it was important that the city adopt regulations “so that denser housing, particularly for singles, has a fighting chance in the market.” She added, “It’s great to have people with a lot of money living here — we need their taxes and spending power — but the loss of density is tragic, especially where mass transit access is so great.”

HOUSING

“Habitat For Humanity Marks A Milestone.” By Rob Manning. All Things Considered /National Public Radio. October 3, 2011. Monday, Habitat for Humanity dedicates its 500,000th house. The homebuilding charity is known for using volunteer labor to help build affordable homes for low-income families. In Portland, Ore., the organization has bought up 150 empty lots — enough to keep it building for the next five years. A look at the good that can come from the failing housing market.

HOUSING

“With prices low, Habitat for Humanity snatches up five years’ worth of land.” By Elliot Njus. The Oregonian. September 18, 2011. After fever-pitch rate of building leading up to the housing crash, they left behind hundreds of lots waiting for houses, many taken back by lenders looking to unloand them — quick. That left one builder unusually suited to take advantage of the situation: Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit that builds low-cost homes for low-income families. So the organization’s Portland branch launched a fundraising campaign and started snatching up land. In the last several months, the group has built up a five-year supply of land, enough for as many as 150 houses. It’s aiming to pump up its production by 50 percent. Habitat sells volunteer-built homes to families with income between 30 and 60 percent of the area’s median. The families, for their part, make a 1 percent down payment and put in 500 hours of volunteer work for the organization. They then pay a zero-interest mortgage to pay off the construction cost of the home. Cheap land can significantly reduce the cost of a home, but it’s been difficult for for-profit builders to take advantage of low land prices. Most were left without much cash by the housing crisis, and lenders have been reluctant to take on housing loans given the dearth of buyers and falling prices. Some of the Habitat sites were projects started at the peak of the housing boom, then halted abruptly at the crash. The largest, a site at Southeast 171st and Division Street, was a community of 65 lots where only the first 20 homes were built and sold. Habitat will build the remaining 45 for low-income families.

HOUSING

“Not-For-Profits Get A Break.” By Thomas MacMillan. New Haven Independent (www.newhavenindependent.org). September 7, 2011. NeighborWorks’ Seila Mosquera questioned the tax man’s math. If an organization is collecting less rent by offering subsidized housing to poor people, should it pay less in property taxes? Yes. At least, that’s how the Board of Aldermen answered the question Tuesday night. The question was posed in the form of two items on the agenda at the board’s regular meeting. The items proposed changes to the way the city assesses taxes for properties owned by the YMCA on Howe Street and NeighborWorks New Horizons, a housing agency. Aldermen voted to approve the two proposals. As a result, the two organizations will pay lower taxes than they otherwise would have, in recognition of the public service they provide. The YMCA item sailed through; the NeighborWorks matter prompted a small debate. Some aldermen had wondered if it should be held up for further study, because the city assessor’s office had released confusing numbers on the deal. Hill Alderman Jorge Perez, chairman of the Legislation Committee, introduced the items to the board, starting with the YMCA. The city normally calculates assessments based on the fair market value, he said. But the state legislature passed a law that assessments can be calculated using actual rents, Perez said. That’s what the Y is looking to do, he said. The YMCA operates 80 Section 8 apartments and an additional 13 supportive housing units through the Housing Authority of New Haven. The proposal also included a change to a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement between the YMCA and the city, in which the Y would increase its payment, but still would not pay as much as it otherwise might have to. The deal would allow the Y to do a $12 million renovation project, most of which is being paid for with tax credits, along with a grant that has to be spent this year, Perez said.

HOUSING

“Lawmakers ask HUD for records on affordable-housing projects.” By Debbie Cenziper. Washington Post. June 8, 2011. Two key federal lawmakers are calling for a detailed accounting of more than 1,000 affordable-housing construction projects funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development amid concerns about delayed and defunct development deals nationwide. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, and Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), chairman of the panel’s subcommittee on insurance and housing, sent a letter to HUD on Wednesday requesting budgets, construction schedules, completion dates and photos of construction sites for every major project funded before 2007. The information would provide the most comprehensive look ever at the pace of construction in the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which since 1992 has provided $32 billion in block grants to state and local governments for the creation of housing for the poor. For years, the agency’s inspector general has chronicled delayed and abandoned projects in cities across the country. A Washington Post investigation published last month found hundreds of troubled projects, including some in the District, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. Because HUD does not track the progress of construction — only how quickly its money is spent — the agency often does not know when projects stall or die. “It’s like saying, ‘Yeah, I know I wrote the check, but I don’t know whether I received the goods that I purchased,’?” Neugebauer said. “We’re not talking about rocket science here. This is something that goes on in the real world every day. [HUD] doesn’t have a process in place that actually tracks the project and the objective. They seem to know that they sent money to Texas or Alabama or New York, but past that, I’m not sure that they know much more.”
Related story:
“Million-Dollar Wasteland; An ongoing investigation into how HUD has mismanaged America’s affordable housing; A failed promise of better affordable housing.” Washington Post. May 14, 2011.

HOUSING

“Renewing a Fair-Housing Fight; Group Claims Westchester Is Skirting 2009 Decree Over Racial Discrimination.” By Shelly Banjo. Wall Street Journal. June 2, 2011. A New York City nonprofit housing group on Tuesday asked a district court in Manhattan to step in and enforce a 2009 consent decree that settled a lawsuit over Westchester County’s alleged failure to enforce federal fair-housing laws. The Anti-Discrimination Center—which as part of the 2009 settlement received $7.5 million from the county and was subsequently dismissed from overseeing the settlement’s implementation—now wants to jump back in the fray. It claims Westchester County is skirting its obligations to enforce fair-housing laws, pointing to missed deadlines and a failure to provide sufficient planning documents. The center said the federal government and the court-appointed monitor aren’t adequately enforcing the county’s compliance with the settlement.
Westchester County disputes the center’s claims and said it’s actually ahead of schedule in the number of approved affordable homes. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesman declined to comment on the center’s court action but said the agency is taking the case seriously. Currently, it is withholding $7.3 million in Westchester’s yearly federal housing funds until the county meets certain federal funding requirements. The county, a court-appointed monitor and the federal government each said they are working together to establish affordable housing across the mostly affluent area.

HOUSING

“Amidst Foreclosure Crisis, Proposed Budget Would Slash Housing Counseling.” By Paul Kiel. ProPublica, April 13, 2011. One of the primary sources of money for counseling agencies is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The budget agreement would reduce that program’s funding from $88 million to zero. The effect on agencies would be “absolutely devastating,” said Judy Hunter of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, a non-profit based in Sacramento, Calif. The HUD funding is “really the spine on which housing counseling programs exist,” said Bruce Dorpalen of Affordable Housing Centers of America, a national nonprofit formerly known as Acorn Housing Corporation. There are about 2,800 HUD-approved agencies throughout the country [3], which provide a range of services to millions of homeowners and prospective homebuyers free of charge. About half of the counseling sessions provided in 2010 were dedicated to helping those facing foreclosure, according to HUD. Meg Reilly, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget, said, “these were very tough choices to make.” Reilly pointed out that the agreement had left intact a $65 million fund devoted to counseling for foreclosure avoidance. Advocates said that fund has not come close to meeting the demand of homeowners facing foreclosure. NeighborWorks [4], which administers the fund, requested $113 million for 2011 but received just over half that amount. Counseling agencies offer traditional services such as financial reviews and budgeting, but they also increasingly have been called upon to help homeowners navigate the often-bewildering maze they face when trying to avoid foreclosure. The Treasury Department has relied on the infrastructure of agencies in running the administration’s mortgage modification program, referring homeowners to HUD-approved counselors through a national hotline [5]. The cuts would go into effect later this year. Agencies could seek other private or public funds to try to avoid layoffs, but some are already scrambling to make ends meet, advocates said. “What we’re seeing across the market is that both on the foreclosure front as well as with first-time homebuyers, funds to support housing counseling agencies are drying up,” said Bernell Grier, chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City. The House is expected to vote on the proposed budget this week.

“Another symptom of the downturn: Unpaid fees at housing associations.” By Jeff Manning. The Oregonian. April 16, 2011. Leland Jaquay, a gregarious 32-year-old, loves his role as president of the Fairview Terrace Homeowners Association. For most of his stint on the Fairview board, the issues were generally minor, mainly stemming from “the three P’s,” as Jaquay shorthands it, the pool, parking and dog poop. That allowed Jaquay to concentrate on what he liked most: the barbecue, the casino night and other social events that helped the east-Multnomah County development build a sense of community. But in recession-plagued 2011, the problems are deeper and grimmer. Fairview, like homeowners associations all over the state, is enduring a financial storm brought on by the economic slump and housing bust. Hard-pressed residents are not paying their HOA dues in numbers that professional condo managers say they’ve never seen. The delinquencies are depriving associations of a crucial revenue stream and forcing some to defer maintenance or levy special assessments on the paying neighbors to make up the shortfall. Fairview has increased its monthly HOA dues from $175 to $260. Yet it’s not been nearly enough to cover the shortfall, which now exceeds $180,000. Jaquay’s association, like many others, has chosen to file collections lawsuits against its own members and former members. HOA dues hit a growing number of Oregonians as they moved into condos and townhomes and other planned communities. Nationally, just over 2 million people lived in communities governed by homeowner associations in 1970. By 2010, the number was 62 million.

HOUSING

“Nonprofits Getting First Shot At Bank Foreclosures.” By Bob Christie. Huffington Post. December 28, 2010. Francisco and Pam Cruz maneuvered around boxes of new flooring and open cans of paint as they surveyed the foreclosed Phoenix house they would soon call their own. This house wasn’t typical of the thousands in foreclosure-battered Arizona that banks have auctioned for cheap – often to investors who make just enough repairs to satisfy a potential renter. The Cruzes will become first-time homeowners, helped by one of many nonprofit groups that can snag foreclosures at a discount – and sometimes for free – before banks make them available to speculators. It’s a glimmer of hope for struggling neighborhoods that are watching banks foreclose on a record number of homes this year. In the Cruzes’ case, Rebuilding Together obtained the home for free from JPMorgan Chase & Co., the bank that foreclosed on its previous owner. Honeywell International Inc. provided the labor to renovate it and $25,000 cash for the materials. In a market hot with speculators snapping up cheap foreclosures, Rebuilding Together’s program is one of many that give a leg up to nonprofits and redevelopment agencies trying to stabilize neighborhoods dotted with vacant houses. Yet Jim O’Donnell, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s community revitalization program manager, acknowledges that each home being offered to a community group also has a story about someone who lost it to the bank.

“Housing Works expands; Housing Works, a NY institution, is going international; funds will help AIDS victims.” By Miriam Kreinin Souccar. Crain’s New York Business. January 2, 2011. Housing Works, the New York institution that runs high-end thrift shops to fund its AIDS services, is spreading its advocacy around the globe. The 20-year-old nonprofit recently opened offices in Haiti, Washington, Albany, and Jackson, Miss., to start up efforts to help poor people living with HIV/AIDS and to promote the cause on a national scale. It plans to open an office in Puerto Rico this spring. To help fund its new operations, Housing Works is also expanding its successful chain of trendy thrift shops nationwide, Crain’s New York Business has learned. First up will be Washington, D.C., where executives from the nonprofit are looking for real estate and hope to open a branch in the fall. Their goal is to slowly open a number of stores in the D.C. area, expand into the tristate region around New York City and eventually move into other major markets such as Atlanta and Chicago. “We want to play a much larger role on a national level,” said Charles King, who founded Housing Works with three other members of the legendary AIDS activist group Act Up. “You can’t operate as an island with this issue.” Most nonprofits retrenched and cut their budgets as fundraising dried up during the recession. But Housing Works’ operating budget defied the odds, actually jumping 12% for this fiscal year, which ended June 30, to nearly $55 million.

HOUSING

“Nonprofit helps build hope on Blue Hill Ave.; Habitat works on last phase of 24-unit project.” By Jenifer B. McKim. Boston Globe. October 2, 2010. Siraad Yusuf and her three children have been bunking with her sister and family in a crowded Roxbury townhouse for two years. Yesterday, the Somali refugee was elated to witness her new home — a three-bedroom Dorchester condominium built with the help of Habitat for Humanity-Greater Boston — begin to take shape. Yusuf, a doctor in Somalia who now works in a Boston health clinic, is one of three homeowners who will be moving into the new condos on Blue Hill Avenue on the border of Dorchester and Roxbury. The construction marks the last phase of a five-building project called Blue Hill Place, made possible by Habitat for Humanity volunteers and about $3.5 million in public and private funding. The nonprofit yesterday hosted a celebration at the site to thank Delta Air Lines Inc., which contributed $150,000 and more than 225 volunteers who are working to complete the three-unit building by next summer. Delta is one of a series of private companies that have supplied volunteers and money for the 24-unit project located along a long troubled urban corridor.