NYS Affordable Housing Corporation Approves $300,000 to Rehab Homes in Onondaga

NEW YORK, NY (07/26/2007)(readMedia)-- The Board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) today approved $300,000 to help rehabilitate an estimated 58 housing units in the City of Syracuse and surrounding Onondaga County.

The money will help fund an existing home improvement program tailored to very low-income homeowners run by Home HeadQuarters, a not-for-profit that revitalizes neighborhoods in central New York.

“We are very proud to be part of this important effort to rebuild homes and communities in Onondaga County,” said Priscilla Almodovar, President and Chief Executive Officer of AHC. “Ensuring that our homes are in great condition is vital if we are to grow and stabilize neighborhoods in central New York.”

”This AHC funding will play a vital role in helping to leverage other home improvement program dollars such as our NYSERDA Home Energy Improvement loans and grants,” said Kerry Quaglia, Executive Director of Home HeadQuarters. “We will be able to help more central New York homeowners increase the value of their homes and, depending on the repairs, even save money in the future through decreased utility costs.”

AHC’s $300,000 grant will be used in conjunction with $300,000 in other home improvement funding to improve approximately 50 single-family and four two-family homes located in neighborhoods in Syracuse and Onondaga County that are in need of revitalization. Improvements will include structural repairs, roof replacement, door and window replacement, hard-wiring smoke detectors as well as addressing electrical, plumbing, lead, furnace and duct work. Homeowners must apply to Home HeadQuarters and participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

Funding for the program includes $300,000 from AHC and $300,000 from other sources, including the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal, federal Community Development Block Grant Funds through the City of Syracuse, and the Home HeadQuarters Flex Fund Loan Program.

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AHC is a subsidiary of HFA and was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households, by providing financial assistance as approved annually by the New York State Legislature, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and improvement of owner occupied housing.

AHC Contact: Philip Lentz, 212-688-4000 ext. 679, plentz@nyhomes.org

Home HeadQuarters Contact: Karen Schroeder, 315-474-1939 ext. 249, karens@homehq.org

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