DOE Fund breaks ground on Bedford Park 10-story building
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 16 ECEMBER 14-20, 2018 BTR
The DOE Fund is celebrating the opening of a new 68-unit apartment
building at 3188 Villa Avenue that contains both affordable and supportive
housing units. Photo courtsey of The DOE Fund
bronxdesign.com
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FIND THE LATEST TRENDS & STYLES
Serving the Bronx
since 1992
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A new affordable and supportive
housing building sponsored
by a major non-profi t is
coming to the west Bronx
The DOE Fund, a nonprofi
t social services agency
that works with the vulnerable
populations including the
formerly homeless and previously
incarcerated, broke
ground on a 10-story Bedford
Park apartment building.
The DOE Fund, amid the
fanfare generated by its new
68-unit residential building at
3188 Villa Avenue, launched
the project during a ceremony
on Friday, December 7.
The project received a conditional
letter of support from
Community Board 7, with provisions
requiring the apartments
be advertised to the local
communities in a timely
manner and that employment
opportunities be offered to local
residents, said Jean Hill,
CB 7 chairwoman, who was
the board’s Housing and Land
Use Committee chairperson
when The DOE Fund visited
in January.
Construction on the ‘as of
right’ project is expected to
take 21 months, stated a DOE
Fund spokeswoman, adding it
will receive tax exemptions.
Larry Gordon, The DOE
Fund vice-president of housing
development, said that the
organization has a number
of buildings in the Bronx, including
60 units near Crotona
Park and 82 on Webster Avenue.
A DOE Fund spokeswoman
said that the housing furthers
the organization’s mission
by removing barriers to economic
independence for individuals.
This project fi ts into the
larger structure of the organization’s
other programs like
its Ready, Willing and Able
program which promotes selfsuffi
ciency, said the spokeswoman.
“Developing safe, supportive
and affordable housing is
sort of the culmination of the
programs we run as we get
people back on their feet, as we
help people with affl ictions,”
said Gordon.
Gordon added that The
DOE Fund has programs that
help low-income families, seniors
and the disabled.
At Villa Avenue, there
will be a long-term social service
contract that will help 41
singe adults, said Gordon, who
added that DOE is about more
than helping people in transition.
The remaining 27 units in
the building are set at affordable
housing rates. Applicants
will be referred to The Doe
Fund primarily through the
New York City Housing Authority,
said Gordon.
At the presentation The
DOE Fund told CB 7 members
that the building will consist
of 60 studios and eight onebedroom
permanent housing
units, targeting seniors and
people with chronic illness,
said Hill.
The project’s affordability
level is set at 50% of Area
Median Income (AMI), said
Perry, and will feature on-site
programming and a maintenance
staff.
CB 7 was told that the NYC
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development
provided funding.
Councilman Andrew Cohen,
who represents the community,
had words of praise
for CB 7’s handling of its meeting
with The DOE Fund.
“The community board is
very thoughtful and responsible,”
said Cohen, adding that
CB 7 has reasonable goals that
allow its service area to receive
diverse affordable housing
representing a variety
of income bands in developments
that are the right size
for the community.
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