Attorney General James Announces Up To $300,000 Grant For Affordable Housing In Chemung, Steuben, And Schuyler Counties
Attorney General James Announces up to $300,000 Grant for Affordable Housing in Chemung, Steuben, and Schuyler Counties
Funded Through Landlord Ambassador Program to Create and Preserve Affordable Housing
NEW YORK – Attorney General Letitia James announced that Arbor Housing and Development—a member of New York’s Landlord Ambassador Program serving Chemung, Steuben, and Schuyler Counties—will receive up to $300,000 in funding to help preserve affordable housing in the region. The program, created by the Office of the Attorney General in 2017, helps preserve multifamily housing stock by partnering with local non-profits to assist landlords of distressed properties obtain financing for repairs or find new, responsible developers to take over the buildings.
“Connecting landlords in Chemung, Steuben, and Schuyler Counties with additional resources is essential to maintaining affordable housing options in the region,” said Attorney General James. “The Landlord Ambassador Program improves the supply of quality affordable housing to many New York families. My office is committed to preserving affordable housing and helping families remain in their homes.”
The Landlord Ambassador Program helps coordinate municipalities and property owners to help landlords access financing and technical support to repair occupied, distressed multifamily homes as well as preserve these homes as part of the region’s affordable housing stock. The program, administered in conjunction with Enterprise Community Partners, provides up to $1.5 million in grants for a two-year period to community-based non-profit organizations in six regions outside of New York City.
“Many landlords want to keep their properties affordable, but simply do not have access to the tools they need to do so,” said Judi Kende, vice president and New York market leader, Enterprise Community Partners. “The Landlord Ambassador Program leverages the expertise of non-profit housing organizations to support landlords in their efforts to preserve affordable homes. We are excited to expand our partnership with the Attorney General and bring these valuable connections and expertise to even more landlords across the state.”
Arbor Housing and Development is one of the six grantees chosen based on their building management practices which supports long-term housing affordability. They will provide technical assistance to building owners making upgrades to their properties in an effort to create and preserve safe, affordable homes. The organization also intends to improve the quality of the rental housing stock by supporting property owners facing challenges and barriers to maintain their properties, while also providing much-needed long-term affordable housing to tenants living in these homes.
“Arbor Housing and Development is excited to be a recipient of the funding provided for the Landlord Ambassador Program,” said Rocco Soda, director of real estate development, Arbor Housing and Development. “This is a great opportunity that will benefit landlords and, in turn, provide updated and quality housing for tenants. The ripple effects of this program are key. Our communities will truly benefit from this.”
“The Landlord Ambassador program is a beneficial and productive tool for landlords to help maintain and properly rehabilitate housing properties,” said Elmira Mayor Daniel Mandell. “I want to thank the Attorney General for investing in our community in upstate New York, and we look forward to partnering with their office as we continue to look for ways to help the residents of Elmira.”
This new round of the Landlord Ambassador Program is funded by an OAG obtained settlement with the Royal Bank of Scotland.