University Neighborhood Housing Program

University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP)'s mission is to create, preserve, and improve affordable housing in the Bronx and New York City. UNHP also serves the residents of the Northwest Bronx with resources for financial education.

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UNHP 2018 Bronx Beer Hall Fundraiser - a Success!

A BIG thank you to our generous sponsors, our raffle donors and our guests for making the UNHP 2018 fundraiser at the Bronx Beer Hall a huge success! Over 150 guests enjoyed gourmet pizza from Zero Otto Nove, craft beer from the Gunhill Brewery and handmade gelato for La Marketta, the ambiance of the Arthur Avenue retail market and good company. #Thankyou Read more about the event here.

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Looking Back and Thinking Forward: Community Reinvestment Act at 40

On June 28th, 2018, UNHP hosted a well-attended forum on the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)as bank regulators consider a regulatory revision. The Forum provided information about the CRA’s past and present relevance to the Bronx and to New York City at large, with the goal of laying the groundwork for organizing and implementation efforts around expected changes to this imperfect but also crucially important reinvestment tool. This context included detail about the history of redlining, the effectiveness of past Bronx community organizing and reinvestment efforts, and present-day gaps in financial services in the borough. Read more about the event here.

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10M Water Credit Yields Benefits for Bronx Affordable Housing

Dozens of Bronx buildings that had applied for the $10 million Multifamily Water Assistance Program started to receive their $250/unit rebate at the end of May. This great news is the culmination of UNHP’s work for over 30 years to highlight the need for water and sewer rate reform. The credit will help keep rents affordable and support building upgrades and improvements in these selected Bronx buildings. At their June 2018 meeting, the NYC Water Board budgeted for the continuation of the program in 2019. Read more by clicking here

TAGS:#waterand sewer #UNHP #affordablehousing

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Immigrants are Important and Bank Branches Still Matter

“For immigrants - undocumented, new arrivals and even foreign-born citizens – access to banking is the first step to making sense of financial systems in the US.” according to Jumelia Abrahamson, Director of UNHP’s Northwest Bronx Resource Center. Jumelia shared our experiences working with immigrants in the Bronx to build financial stability at ANHD’s 5/18/18 Community Development Conference.

Jumelia Abrahamson, Director of the Northwest Bronx Resource Center (NWBRC) participated as a panelist in ANHD’s 8th Annual Community Development Conference about Access to Financial Services for Immigrant Populations. The panel, moderated by Nahida Uddin (National CAPACD) and Jaime Weisberg from ANHD, included Nicole Perry (Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment), Melanie Stern (Spring Bank) and Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Chair of the Immigration Committee in the NYC Council. Panelists shared the successful practices of community development banks, and community-based financial services programs to build trust and serve an immigrant client base. While community-based programs and nonprofit financial services providers can work to become a trusted financial resource for immigrants, access and availability to traditional bank branches, banking services, and credit unions remain essential – especially in the Bronx.

Jumelia shared our experiences working with Bronx residents to build their financial stability by working with residents during tax time, delivering topic specific financial workshops, and offering 1:1 financial advisement and Getting Ahead workshops in our community in partnership with Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners.

Jumelia cited examples of our work to layer financial services and immigrant-specific assistance. Working with Ariva as an IRS VITA free tax preparation site, UNHP assists many immigrants, people with ITIN’s and self-employed file their tax returns. On-site services are layered during tax time and include credit reports, brief financial counseling, SNAP screening and appointments for 1:1 financial advisement. Many tax filers return year after year giving UNHP an opportunity to build trust and engagement over time. Engaging a local Latina entrepreneur as a consultant, UNHP has been able to achieve consist enrollment in the Spanish language 10-hour Getting Ahead workshops and deeper reach into the immigrant community. Through outreach events and resource fairs, UNHP provides broad access to housing and financial services for all Bronx residents, and always includes information and services for immigrants, such as idNYC, ITIN and Immigration services. Jumelia emphasized that this type of community building requires small steps to build a relationship.

The other panelist also shared their best practices to build trust and increase financial access to immigrants. DCA Office of Financial Empowerment partners with local groups; the Ariva DCA Ventanilla Program offers in-house financial services at the Mexican Consulate. Spring Bank, a community development bank, works to create a comfortable environment, offers small-dollar loan products without a credit check, employee loans and credit building loans. Spring Bank partnered with UNHP to create a small loan fund available to home-based daycare providers who participated in a business development course. NYC Councilman Carlos Menchaca shared his own experience as being from an immigrant family and being intimidated by financial services and his promotion of the idNYC program.

While community-based programs and nonprofit financial services providers can work to become a trusted financial resource for immigrants, access and availability to traditional banking services and credit unions are also essential. In the Bronx, one of the long-term impacts of redlining has been that the borough has the lowest concentration of bank branches per household of any county in the United States. New America’s Financial Opportunity Map, published in September 2017, shows the high rate of Alternative Financial Services (AFS) in the Bronx compared to traditional banks and credit unions. AFS – check cashing, rent-to-own stores, pop-up tax prep sites and pawn shops - are about equal in number to banks branches in the Bronx. According to the study “Where are the Unbanked and Under-banked in New York City” published in 2015, 21.8% of Bronx households were unbanked in 2013, and 30.5% of Bronx households are under-banked as defined by having a banking account and using AFS as well. UNHP’s blog, More Alternatives to Alternative Financial Services are Needed in the Bronx shares maps and data about the use of AFS and the lack of bank branches in the Bronx.

UNHP welcomes more low-cost, accessible financial services in the Bronx from both traditional and non-traditional sources that can serve the many unbanked and under-banked Bronx residents including low-income and immigrant households.

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Lehman Student, Mom, UNHP Intern, NYC Rent Freeze Recipient – Claudette Does it All!

Claudette is a Bronx Renaissance woman – Lehman College student, aspiring social worker, President of the Lehman Adult Degree Program Student Association, mother of six children, and an Intake Specialist and Housing Connect intern for UNHP.

There was a time when Claudette would have been unable to be so active.  While working as a mechanic, Claudette was crushed by a car when the car lift failed. Claudette was in a cast for six months and for a long time was physically unable to live a normal life. The loss of her job, and her physical restrictions brought Claudette to a depressed state.  Claudette credits the All Boro Adult Care Center in the Bronx with helping her “get out of my shell.  They encouraged me to keep active and enroll in Lehman College.”

At 58, Claudette is indeed active.  She hopes to be a social worker who works with the elderly.  In addition to her studies at Lehman, she is active in student government and helped to create a food pantry for students at the College. Claudette assisted UNHP during our busy Free Tax Prep Program by assisting tax filers through the intake process and enrolling Bronx residents in the NYC online affordable housing lottery.

Thanks to UNHP’s help, Claudette received a NYC Rent Freeze for the apartment that she shares with her handicapped adult child.  UNHP can assist seniors 62 and over or people with disabilities freeze their rent through the Department of Finance SCRIE and DRIE programs.  If you are 62 or older, or disabled, live in a rent stabilized apartment and earn less than $50,000 – give UNHP a call [phone].  UNHP can screen you for the program and help you enroll or renew your NYC Rent Freeze.

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So Far So Good! UNHP #NYCFreeTaxPrep Program on Track for Success!

With 13 UNHP Free Tax Preparation days behind us,1,000 tax filers assisted and seven more service days in front of us, UNHP can proudly say that we are meeting, and possibly exceeding, our goals for our 2018 program. The primary goal of the UNHP Free Tax Preparation Program is to provide free, professional, and accurate tax return filings for low-income individuals and families in our community. The UNHP program, offered in partnership with Fordham Bedford Community Services and Ariva, is more than just taxes. Read More Here

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UNHP #NYCFreeTaxPrep Program 2018!

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Financial Fitness Event Launches 11th Year of UNHP’s Free Tax Prep Program

What does it mean to be financially fit - good credit, a savings plan, a professional fee-free tax preparation agency, an up-to-date home mortgage, housing security? UNHP offered access to a range of financial and housing services to address all these financial fitness needs at our 2018 Open House held on Wednesday, January 17 at the Northwest Bronx Resource Center.

44 Bronx residents attended the Open House and were able to make a tax appointment, enroll in Housing Connect, meet with Ariva’s Ready to Rent Financial Counselors and address rental housing issues with NYC’s Tenant Support Unit. Homeowners had the opportunity to meet with NYC Legal Aid, and seniors and people with disabilities could apply for a NYC Rent Freeze. UNHP’s Northwest Bronx Resource Center, located at Refuge House, a community service center run by Fordham Bedford Community Service, hosted the event. Read more here.

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UNHP Financial Fitness Open House, January 17, 2018 at The Northwest Bronx Resource Center

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FDIC Chair Tours Bronx with UNHP & FBHC

On November 7th after speaking at a breakfast in Manhattan, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair, Martin Gruenberg, visited UNHP and Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC). Marty was born and raised in the Bronx and we first met him in 1980 as a legislative aide to former Bronx Congressman Jonathan Bingham.  We worked with Marty when we were fighting the widespread private and public abandonment of the Bronx and 37 years later, we took Marty to see the same neighborhoods, highlighting several of the buildings that have been renovated and newly constructed as part of the rebirth of the Bronx.  So much has changed; as opposed to vacant abandoned properties, we stopped to look at visually and ecologically spectacular buildings that FBHC has built from the ground up and others that UNHP and FBHC had renovated with tenants in place; improving building conditions and preserving long-term affordability.  We talked about UNHP's work to address the rising prices of apartment buildings and the rising rents in the Bronx and how important it has been that the FDIC and the other bank regulators are using our Building Indicator Project.

Marty had spent the morning as an invited speaker at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Expanding Opportunity conference with an address on creating an inclusive economy through community development.  Marty talked about his efforts at the FDIC to encourage the creation of Safe Accounts and to address the issue of the millions of people that are still unbanked in this country and was thrilled to learn that UNHP just issued an online report on that very topic, More Alternatives to Alternative Financial Services Needed in the Bronx.

In closing I’d like to return to Marty Gruenberg’s closing remarks at the LISC conference. “The single most important aspect of this work is staying with it, sticking with it, sustaining the work at a high level over time.”  The reunion was a great reminder that there are so many people dedicated to their homes and neighborhoods for the long haul.  Much of the recent news has been so mind-numbing that we wanted to highlight this recent meeting and tour as a reminder of the importance of recognizing the accomplishments and the ongoing challenges and remembering to enjoy the company of the good and dedicated people we meet and work with along the way. --Jim Buckley, UNHP

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11/7/17 UNHP and FBHC Tour with FDIC Chair, Martin Gruenberg