Asian Americans for Equality introduces proposal
to build transitional housing project in Flushing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Asian Americans for Equality
(AAFE), a nonprofit organization
that provides affordable
rental housing and home
ownership for New Yorkers, is
proposing a new transitional
housing project in Flushing
to assist Asian families with
children experiencing homelessness
amid the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.
Transitional housing is
temporary housing that offers
support services for different
segments of the homeless population
or those experiencing a
crisis. It provides safe housing,
stability and support for families
to get back on their feet
and transition to permanent
affordable housing.
Families who are living in
overcrowded housing or illegal
conversions and who have
been displaced by fires and
natural disasters — such as
Hurricane Ida in September
2021 that caused 11 deaths in
the city, 10 of whom were of
Asian descent — would benefit
from the Flushing project, according
to AAFE’s Co-Executive
Director Jennifer Sun.
“That illustrates the kind
of need in the community for
these types of transitional projects
to provide safe, quality
shelter for families impacted
by natural disasters. It’s happening
at a greater frequency
and there is an urgent need for
more transitional housing in
communities,” Sun said.
This is a first-of-a-kind
project for AAFE, which is
partnering with the Urban
Resource Institute (URI) to
develop a residential building
at 39-03 College Point Blvd.,
which will be contextual to the
neighborhood.
The project includes 90
units that will each have a private
kitchen, bathroom and
living space, so families can
experience an apartment living
environment.
According to Sun, a project
such as this doesn’t exist for
Asian families in New York
City. It is understood in the
Asian community that the
city’s shelter system is not welcoming
to Asian families with
children, since there are no
Asian language services available,
Sun said.
Families also fear being
attacked at a shelter and not
having the support to communicate
with officials. This
results in them staying with
relatives or renting beds with
unrelated family members in
overcrowded apartments on a
temporary basis.
“It places them in a precarious
situation and remains
at risk of homelessness,” Sun
said.
AAFE’s transitional housing
project will provide on-site
services such as job training
and placement support, tutoring,
after-school programs
for children, one-on-one case
management and counseling
to help each family find permanent
housing.
This isn’t the first time
AAFE has provided affordable
rental housing for Flushing
residents.
In 2019, the organization
developed a 231-unit building,
One Flushing, located at 41st
Avenue between Main Street
and College Point Boulevard
that is fully occupied. It was
the first major affordable housing
project in decades to be
constructed in the community.
AAFE’s current project
will benefit the community at
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | JAN. 28 - FEB. 3, 2022
large, providing temporary
construction jobs and permanent
jobs, such as a commitment
from its partner URI
which will hire locally and
maximize opportunities in
Flushing.
“We want to provide temporary
housing resources for
families already living and
working in the neighborhood
and to stay while they’re getting
their lives back together
again,” Sun said. “This is a
benefit to small businesses and
residents will contribute to the
local economy, and their children
will benefit from staying
in school.”
Before COVID-19 hit New
York City in March 2020, Flushing
residents were experiencing
xenophobia and businesses
reported a loss of revenue due
to a slowdown in customers at
restaurants, nail salons and
hotels. Their revenues had
plummeted by over 60% at a
peak time during Lunar New
Year. It was an economic spiral
for the community as small
businesses were struggling to
stay afloat and significant layoffs
were occurring as a result
of the pandemic.
“Specifically, we saw
through social services a significant
increase in the number
of immigrant residents
who lost their jobs because
many of them are concentrated
in retail, hospitality and
service sectors, which were
adversely impacted by the pandemic,”
Sun said.
According to AAFE, the
number of Asian Americans
claiming state unemployment
benefits in New York rose by
over 4,000% from May 2019
to May 2020 – nearly three
times the increase for the state
overall. More than 200,000
Asian Americans claimed
unemployment benefits from
May 2019 to May 2020 — the
increase in Asian claimants
has been higher than other
racial groups. In 2019, more
Asians were living in poverty
in Flushing than citywide.
In the early days of the
pandemic, the city’s shelter-inplace
order had created a condition
where families living
in overcrowded apartments
didn’t have the space to quarantine
or self isolate if infected
with the virus. That resulted
in a high rate of COVID-19 infection
and death in Flushing,
Sun said.
“Despite the eviction moratorium,
landlords were still
trying to increase the rent.
They were not providing heat
or hot water and maintaining
safe living conditions for families
to practice hygiene and
protect themselves from COVID
infection,” Sun said. “Families
who are evicted from their
homes are families with children
who are eligible for the
project we are developing.”
However, there has been
misinformation about the
residential building being a
homeless shelter, which is not
true, Sun said.
“It provides services onsite
that are focused on providing
one on one case management
for families with
children, helping them find a
job, securing the income support
and housing subsidies to
be able to move into permanent
housing as quickly as
possible. A shelter doesn’t provide
that type of case management
support,” Sun said.
In regards to the design
of the building, Sun said the
90 units will function as individual
units. There will be
no shared kitchens or bathrooms,
which are more common
features of shelters.
According to Sun, there is a
possibility in the future for the
project to be converted from
transitional housing to permanent
affordable housing.
AAFE is partnering with
the city Department of Homeless
Services (DHS) that will
be funding the acquisition
of the property that AAFE
owns to dedicate the space
for a “purpose-built facility,”
which is being built specifically
for families with children.
DHS will fund the construction
and operation of the
project.
Before the holidays, AAFE
made a public announcement
that they’re putting the project
on hold to have a discussion
with the community and
elected officials about the
project.
Sun says they’re committed
to moving the project
forward later this year. Construction
will take 20 months
to complete and their goal is to
open in 2024.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
A rendering of the residential building proposed for 39-03 College Point Blvd. in Flushing
Courtesy of Urban Architectural Initiatives
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