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The Jericho Project and The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), along with the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs (MOVA,) celebrated the grand opening of “Fordham Village - A Jericho Project Veterans Community” on Monday.
Fordham Village is a new six-story 56-unit affordable development for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Located at 355 East 194th Street, in the Bronx, Fordham Village will provide supportive housing and state-of-the-art services enabling U.S. service men and women to make the transition from military to civilian life with dignity. There are currently an estimated 109,000 veterans who are homeless across America. With the goal of eliminating veterans’ homelessness by 2015, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is relying on public-private partnerships such as Jericho’s Veterans Initiative to help close the gap.
Colonel David Sutherland, Special Assistant for Warrior and Family Support, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at the yellow ribbon-cutting ceremony before veterans, national and local government organizations, military leaders and community members.
Fordham Village was built under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), an $8.4 billion initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers by 2014. To date, the plan has funded the creation or preservation of 112,178 units of affordable housing across the five boroughs; 3,333 of those units in Bronx Community Board 7 where Fordham Village is located.
“This generation of veterans faces extraordinary challenges in returning home: high combat stress resulting in the invisible wounds of modern war, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury; more female veterans with special needs and family responsibilities, and a difficult economy," said Jericho Project Executive Director Tori Lyon. "We are ready to help them overcome these stresses with therapeutic housing and counseling.”
“Our men and women in uniform are called on to make extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of their country, and many return from conflicts bearing both the visible and invisible scars of battle,” said HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua. “At Fordham Village, our veterans have access to top-of-the-line affordable housing coupled with the specialized services they need to make a fresh start. The City is honored to be able to help support the veterans who have valorously committed their lives to public service.”
“The Jericho Project has been a beacon of hope for many returning veterans,” said MOVA Commissioner Terrance C. Holliday. “This new facility can now open its doors for a new generation of veterans in need thanks to the partnership between the Bloomberg Administration and Jericho Project. We look forward to a continued partnership to provide our veterans with the support they richly deserve.”
The six-story Fordham Village development has 56 new affordable units. Forty percent of the units will be reserved for low-income veterans from the community, with priority given to veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sixty percent of the units will be set aside for veterans who have a history of homelessness and substance abuse. All of the units will be affordable to tenants earning no more than 60% Area Median Income (AMI) or what is equivalent to an annual income of $33,300 for an individual. This is the first phase in Jericho’s visionary Veterans Initiative that will eventually serve 200 veterans. The second veterans residence planned for opening this fall, at 2701 Kingsbridge Terrace in the Bronx, will provide housing and services for 76 veterans.
HPD provided $7.84 million though its Supportive Housing Loan Program (SHLP), and an additional $6 million through Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided $106,000, and $118,000 in developer equity was provided by the Jericho Project.
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