2015 Year in Review

Housing: In 2015, we provided technical assistance and $13.4 million in financing to affordable housing developments, representing 1,245 units of affordable housing and an investment of $255 million in total development costs.  In addition, our affiliate National Equity Fund closed over $120 million in low-income tax credit equity in New York City in 2015. Key community partners and projects we helped finance last year included St. Nicks Alliance's North Brooklyn Opportunities Project and Kings Villas; West Harlem Group Assistance's (WHGA) Dorrie Miller Houses project; MBD Community Housing Corporation's Wallace Mobley project; Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation's Cypress Senior Housing Residences; and West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing's (WSFSSH) Tres Puentes project (architect's rendering above).

Hurricane Sandy: In October, we celebrated the completion of the 501st and final home under our NRNYC Home Repair Program. The program was funded through $19 million from the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, The American Red Cross, Robin Hood Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase Foundation to assist low-income, vulnerable families in obtaining necessary home repairs after Hurricane Sandy. See media stories about the event in DNAInfo, CBS New York and ABC 7 News.  

LISC NYC Convenings:  We hosted several convenings in 2015 related to the state of community development, including a three-part panel with experts and community development leaders about critical issues facing the field, a panel on Zoning for Quality and Affordability (pictured above) and trainings on Y15. Read the tweets about the three-part panels, which featured policy experts on housing and economic development, former LISC NYC executive directors, and today’s leaders of community development corporations.

Thought Leadership and Advocacy: In 2015, we testified about community development and affordable housing related topics before several government committees, including the City Council Committee on Recovery and Resiliency, the City Planning Commission, and the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Housing. 

Economic Development: In 2015 we helped two of our CDC partners, Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation and Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), to become the NYC Housing Authority’s chosen bidder for a $10 million retail project in the Rockaways. The 21,000 sq. ft. new construction project is slated to include a grocery store, community space, hardware store, and credit union. The project grew out of a larger LISC funded community-engaged plan that was led by Ocean Bay CDC, AAFE, LISC and the Hester Street Collaborative. Read The Rockaways Community Planning + Engagement Final Report.

Communities for Healthy Food: In 2015, Communities for Healthy Food created 10 new farmers markets, farm shares and gardens, trained and employed 54 residents as farm stand operators, held program activities for 4,600 neighborhood residents and enrolled 800 families in public nutrition assistance programs. The initiative secured almost $2 million in funding from public and private sources, including the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. The program was written up in Next City, DNAInfo, and News 12 Brooklyn. Shelterforce also published a blog about the West Harlem Community Healthy Food Hub in 2015.      

Two Shades of Green: Our Two Shades of Green program was awarded over $500,000 from State Farm and Wells Fargo in 2015 to continue the program in 2016 and 2017. The program integrates green, healthy and cost-effective measures into existing affordable housing rehabilitation and property maintenance, including at the Marseilles, a WSFSSH building in Manhattan.

From LISC National 2015: A Record-Breaking Year

LISC has never, in 35 years of work, invested more in the future of low-income communities than it did in 2015.  President & CEO Michael Rubinger begins his last year at LISC’s helm with a look at the organization's historic $1.3 billion in support for efforts that help Americans prosper. Read the story!