4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 20, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Asian Americans for Equality introduces proposal
to build transitional housing project in Flushing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE),
a nonprofi t 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 off ers support services for
diff erent 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 aff ordable
housing.
Families who are living in overcrowded
housing or illegal conversions and who
have been displaced by fi res 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 benefi t from the Flushing project,
according to AAFE’s Co-Executive Director
Jennifer Sun.
“Th at 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.
Th is is a fi rst-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.
Th e 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 offi cials. Th is 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,
aft er-school programs for children, oneon
one case management and counseling
to help each family fi nd permanent
housing.
Th is isn’t the fi rst time AAFE has
provided aff ordable 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 fi rst major aff ordable
housing project in decades to be
constructed in the community.
AAFE’s current project will benefi t the
community at 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. “Th is is a
benefi t to small businesses and residents
will contribute to the local economy, and
their children will benefi t 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. Th eir 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 afl oat
and signifi cant layoff s were occurring as
a result of the pandemic.
“Specifi cally, we saw through social services
a signifi cant 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
benefi ts 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
benefi ts 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-in-place 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. Th at 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. Th ey 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
Photo courtesy of Urban Architectural Initiatives
a homeless shelter, which is not true, Sun
said.
“It provides services on-site that are
focused on providing one on one case
management for families with children,
helping them fi nd 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. Th ere 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 aff ordable 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 specifi cally 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 offi cials
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.
A rendering of the residential building proposed for 39-03 College Point Blvd. in Flushing
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