14 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 26, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Richards helps unveil new supportive
housing development in Far Rockaway
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards, Related Companies and Win
on Tuesday, Aug. 4, unveiled Th e Harriet
Tubman Building in Far Rockaway, which
will provide supportive housing for families
leaving homeless shelters.
Richards was joined by state Assembly
members Khaleel Anderson and Stacey
Pheff er Amato for the ribbon-cutting ceremony
at Th e Harriet Tubman Building
located at 1403 Gateway Blvd.
Th e building is a 75,049-square-foot, 100
percent supportive housing development
that off ers 63 high-quality units through a
mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Win (formerly Women in Need), the largest
provider of supportive housing for families
in the city, will off er on-site, tailored
social services for residents. Th e building,
adjacent to Related Gateway Apartments,
will also include a 1,200-square-foot community
room and a 2,000-square-foot children’s
playground that will be open to the
public.
“Th ese brand-new units of supportive
housing will provide families leaving shelters
with a safe place to call home that will
help them fi nd long-term independence
and stability,” said Christine Quinn, president
and CEO of Win.
Win was founded in 1982 with the mission
to transform lives by providing the safe
housing, critical services and groundbreaking
programs needed for families to succeed
on their own.
Quinn added that Win is “excited to work
with Related Companies to off er wraparound,
on-site services to these families,
ensuring residents have the support and
resources they need to break the cycle of
homelessness permanently.”
Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies, said
approaching the city to create new aff ordable
housing units adjacent to a development
they preserved over 10 years ago
was important to them as a company and
emblematic of their commitment to building
strong, inclusive communities for all.
“As one of the largest private owners of
aff ordable housing in the United States,
we are extremely proud of this public-private
partnership and to work closely with
Borough President Richards and Christine
Quinn to bring crucial health and human
services to those in need,” Blau said.
According to Richards, safe, quality,
aff ordable housing is a human right. But for
far too many Far Rockaway families, that
has been a seemingly impossible dream.
“We are fl ipping that script with the
opening of the Harriet Tubman Building,
a game-changing investment in the overall
health of Far Rockaway, our fi ght against
homelessness and the future success of our
families struggling to get by,” Richards told
QNS. “From 100 percent aff ordable housing
units to on-site social services and more,
this development is a model we must follow
as we continue to invest heavily in this
community.”
Th e Harriet Tubman Building’s on-site
social services will address individual medical
and clinical needs including mental and
behavioral health services, counseling targeted
to support the youngest residents,
educational opportunities, job and career
readiness development programs, building
security, tenant relations, rent collection
support, recreational group activities and
more.
Th e building will also have its own case
managers who will develop service plans
that lay out specifi c actions and steps a client
will take, the actions and steps the case
manager will take to support the client, and
the additional resources that are available to
support the client.
Additionally, a certifi ed psychiatric nurse
practitioner will be on site in the licensed
area at least two days each week.
Th e building was designed by MHG
Architects and Monadnock Construction
serving as the construction manager. All of
the units have set aside income limits of 60
percent area median income (AMI) with
10 percent of the units set aside at 40 percent
of AMI.
Th e tenants were referred by the city
Department of Homeless Services and
many came from Win’s temporary homeless
shelters.
Louise Carroll, commissioner of the city
Department of Housing and Preservation
Development, said pairing aff ordable housing
with supportive services is a critical pillar
of the mayor’s housing plan, and the new
Harriet Tubman building is the latest project
designed to give their most vulnerable
neighbors a better opportunity to live an
“independent, full and healthy life.”
“Harriet Tubman residents will get individual
support for their physical and mental
wellbeing, empowering them to seize education
and job opportunities to secure a better
future,” said Carroll, who thanked Richards,
Related Companies and Win for their partnership
on the development and welcoming
the residents to their new homes.
Jamar Adams, managing partner of
Essence Development, said he is proud
“to have been a part in bringing 100 percent
supportive housing and much-needed
resources to the Far Rockaway community.”
Th e Harriet Tubman Building is part of
the fi nal phase of a public-private, multiphase
initiative to bring lasting and impactful
investment to Far Rockaway.
Th at phase is the development of supportive,
aff ordable, mixed-income and market
rate housing spurred by the rezoning of
downtown Far Rockaway.
In total, the city has pledged or invested
$288 million to bring housing, shopping,
business opportunities, transportation and
infrastructure fi xes, arts programs and more
to Far Rockaway.
Other upgrades include a completed
$25 million sewer system upgrade, a
Small Business Service program to renovate
storefronts along Mott Avenue, on which
Rockaway South sits, and $4.4 million in
upgrades to local parks.
Public investment in Far Rockaway, starting
with large-scale infrastructure upgrades
to the transportation system including new
ferry service and bus lines, has continued
with a series of other infrastructure
upgrades undertaken by NYCEDC.
Th is eff ort will culminate with a Snøhettadesigned,
Public Design Commission
award-winning library set amid a fully redesigned
green plaza.
Coupled with the NYCEDC work, the
city has designated a long-abandoned shopping
center directly across from the subway
station in downtown Far Rockaway as
an Urban Renewal Area, acquiring the site,
which is slated for development by Phipps
Houses, for $91 million.
Phipps Houses recently secured loans
in the amount of roughly $230 million
from Housing Development Corporation
to begin the construction of Far Rockaway
Village on the site. Far Rockaway Village
will include roughly 1,700 units when completed.
Photo courtesy of Related Companies
The Harriet Tubman Building
Photo courtesy of Related Companies
(From l. to r.) State Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson, President and CEO of Win Christine Quinn, CEO of Related Companies Jeff Blau, Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato, Managing Partner of Essence Development Jamar Adams and Frank Monterisi cut
the red ribbon at the unveiling of The Harriet Tubman Housing Development in Far Rockaway.
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