HP Community Rallies For
Safer Streets
Cardinal Dolan accounces huge
affordable housing portfolio
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Cardinal Timothy Dolan
and Catholic Charities announced
a massive, affordable
housing portfolio that has fi ve
out of six sites in the Bronx on
Monday, April 8.
Dolan spread the good news
during a ceremony held at one
of the locations, St. Augustine
Terrace on 571 E. 167th
Street, where he joined Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson and
NYC First Lady Chirlane Mc-
Cray in announcing the 866 affordable
units for the borough,
112 of which are at St. Augustine.
The other housing sites will
be: St. Vincent de Paul Senior
Residence, 89 units at 909 Beck
Street, in Longwood; Second
Farms, 319 units at1932 Bryant
Avenue in West Farms; St.
Philip Neri’s 186 units at 3054
and 3069 Villa Avenue in Bedford
Park; and Christopher
Court , 160 units at 2830 Park
Avenue in Melrose, besides
the one Manhattan.
Thirty-fi ve units at St. Augustine
will be set-aside for
adults with mental illness, according
to Catholic Charities.
Beacon of Hope, a division
of Catholic Charities Community
Services, will provide social
services to those tenants
with mental illness living at
St. Augustine Terrace.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 22 PRIL 19-25, 2019 BTR
Dolan, McCray, and Gibson celebrate the opening of the affordable housing
development. Kasey Rodriguez
St. Augustine’s exterior. Kasey Rodriguez
“These individuals have
to deal with tremendous challenges,
including economic
hardship, and providing affordable
homes in a supportive
and well-maintained environment
is critical to their
health and the health of the
larger community,” McCray
said.
The fi rst lady, who leads the
city’s Task Force on Mental Illness,
commended the Catholic
Church for its charitable contribution
to the Bronx.
“Today, we applaud the
work of the Catholic Church
and all New Yorkers who recognize
the need to reintegrate
people who suffer from mental
illness into the larger society,”
she continued.
Prior to its conversion into
housing, St. Augustine was
an Archdiosan church that
closed in 2011.
After its closure, St. Augustine
Church was demolished
in 2013. Its replacement
housing project was designed
by Magnusson Architecture
and Planning and constructed
by MEGA Contracting Group,
achieving LEED Gold environmental
certifi cation.
“This land was sacred before
and is so once again,” Cardinal
Dolan said while presiding
over the ceremony. “The
church is strongly committed
to social justice and ensuring
that having a home is a sacred
human right. We are delighted
that we could transform this
church property into homes
for New Yorkers with the
greatest needs,” the Cardinal
continued.
Design and public approvals
have already begun on the
fi ve new developments in the
Bronx, according to Catholic
Charities.