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QUEENS WEEKLY, DEC. 15, 2019
City breaks ground on Jamaica housing development
for homeless residents with mental, behavioral illnesses
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Residents facing homelessness
with mental and
behavioral health concerns
will soon have a new place to
call home in Jamaica.
Local elected officials,
community members and
city officials on Nov. 26 broke
ground at 161-01 89th Ave.
that will become the site of
a newly constructed 46,000-
square-foot, eight-story, 70-
unit apartment complex for
chronically homeless individuals
with serious mental
illness from the New York
City Homeless Shelter system
and for low-income individuals
62 years of age and
older.
Following the groundbreaking
ceremony, a reception
was held at the Jamaica
Central Public Library at
89-11 Merrick Blvd. with supporters
involved in the development.
“All neighborhoods
around the world have citizens
who struggle with mental
illness and homelessness.
It’s important that community
leaders not turn away from
these individuals, but rather
work with partners in the
public and private sectors to
find helpful solutions,” said
Hope Knight, president and
CEO of the Greater Jamaica
Development Corporation.
“GJDC supports this project
and TSINY’s work as an excellent
operator and provider
of supportive services.”
The building, operated
by Transitional Services for
New York Inc. (TSINY), will
provide tenants a range of
programs and services including
assistance dealing
with substance abuse, budgeting,
housekeeping, cooking
and more.
TSINY is not-for-profit,
multifaceted mental health
corporation that provides
community-based services to
individuals recovering from
mental illness. TSINY tenants
also receive a number
of supportive mental health
services to promote independence
and self-sufficiency.
TD Bank’s Commercial
Real Estate Group provided
a $15.6 million construction
loan toward financing the
development of affordable
housing for homeless, according
to Gloribel Cruz,
vice president of Commercial
Real Estate at TD Bank.
TD’s loan, combined
with Santander Bank’s investment
in low-income tax
credits, city subsidy and a
permanent commitment
from The Community Preservation
Corporation will
allow TSINY to construct
the development. The project
involves the demolition of a
vacant existing building, the
Monica House, which historically
operated as a singleroom
occupancy.
“Safe affordable housing
should be accessible to
everyone, especially our
most vulnerable, and with
the addition of this new development,
TD is helping to
ensure that all New Yorkers
have a place to call home,”
Cruz said. “We are proud to
be a financial institution for
an organization that is working
hard to improve the lives
of those less fortunate in our
local communities.”
The project reinforces TD
Bank’s, The Ready Commitment,
a multi-year program
designed to open doors for
a more inclusive tomorrow
through community giving
in four areas: financial security,
vibrant planet, connected
communities and better
health.
“Jamaica is not different
from any other part of
New York City where there
is high demand for affordable
housing, special needs
housing,” Cruz said. “The
city is committed to addressing
the housing needs of this
population through their
NYC 15/15 program, which
matches capital dollars with
rental assistance and social
services for homeless or frail
residents.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
Congress set to approve paid parental leave for federal workers
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
More than 48,000 federal
employees in New York
City may soon be eligible
for up to 12 weeks paid
parental leave through
an agreement being hammered
out in Congress,
Senator Charles Schumer
announced last Sunday.
New York’s senior senator
and Senate minority
leader said that Congressional
leaders are close
to a final deal on the National
Defense Authorization
Act, which would include
paid parental leave
provisions.
Currently, federal civilian
workers can only
receive three months (12
weeks) of unpaid leave,
and Schumer noted that
extended lack of income
puts many families in serious
financial trouble.
The agreement would
allow any federal employee
up to 12 weeks of paid
time off to care for a newborn
or adopted child.
Schumer said this
would bring “the federal
government’s parental
leave laws into 21st century,
and on-par” with most
industrialized nations
across the globe.
“It’s high time that we
caught up. And as the nation’s
largest employer,
the federal government offering
12 weeks to its millions
of employees across
our nation and here in
New York, is a step in the
right direction,” Schumer
said in a Dec. 8 statement.
“From one end of
the state to the other, no
matter if you are a TSA
or customs agent at JFK
Airport, working on Fort
Drum Army Base, or at
Buffalo VA Medical Center,
you deserve time to
take care of and support
your new loved one and
family, without worrying
how it might impact your
ability to put food on the
table.”
The senator’s office
said the paid parental
leave benefit would affect
approximately 114,386
federal employees in New
York State, including the
48,193 of them who reside
in New York City.
Schumer said he made
securing paid parental
leave his “very to priority,
and fought with everything
I had to secure it.”
Even so, he added, he’ll
continue to seek the same
paid parental leave benefit
for all workers in the
United States.
Reach reporter Robert
Pozarycki by e-mail at
rpozarycki@qns.com or by
phone at (718) 260-4549.
Community members and city officials break ground at 161-01 89th Ave.
Photo courtesy of TSINY
Senator Charles Schumer File photo
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