Representative Ritchie Torres submitted the following proposals for consideration of FY 24 Community Project Funding.
This year, the Appropriations Committee allowed each Member the opportunity to request 15 projects for consideration. After reviewing over 100 applications, Representative Torres selected projects that met Committee eligibility standards, including but not limited to, cost, timeline, and community support.
Inclusion on this list does not guarantee funding. The office will be in touch regarding next steps in the application process.
Project Name: Army Corps Harlem River Feasibility Study
Request Amount: $1,500,000
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Address: 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278
Purpose: The funding would be used to investigate the feasibility of restoration opportunities along the Harlem River. The New York District and USACE “Engineering With Nature” (EWN) Program would identify shoreline opportunities to deliver improvements to the communities along the river. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will lead to a plan for future construction authorization which would restore degraded habitats and cleaner water and provide secondary flood risk management benefits.
Project Name: Bard Prison Initiative: Reducing Recidivism and Increasing Public Safety
Request Amount: $1,500,000
Intended Recipient: Bard College – Bard Prison Initiative
Address: 30 Campus Rd. Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Purpose: The funding would be used to provide college opportunities to women and men across seven prisons in New York State and enroll them in innovative preparation for reentry, as well as unique transitional support in continuing education, housing, career development, and wellness through hubs in New York City. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it aims to increase public safety by reducing recidivism.
Project Name: Belmont Community Land Trust Affordable Housing
Request Amount: $1,250,000
Intended Recipient: Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition
Address: 103 East 196th Street, Bronx, NY 10468
Purpose: The funding would be used to purchase property to create new affordable housing. The project would become the first new construction affordable housing development on land owned and controlled by a community land trust (CLT) in the Bronx. CLTs ensure long term affordability and additional technical assistance to ensure long term maintenance and stability of quality, safe, environmentally sustainable, and affordable housing. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the area in which this project is located has long been disinvested and marginalized, undermining housing values, exacerbating poor health and environmental outcomes and creating opportunities for illegal dumping, safety issues and urban blight. Investing in this project would increase access to affordable housing, improve local community outcomes, and support overall community development of the area.
Project Name: BOEDC Community Business Development Event Space Construction
Request Amount: $650,000
Intended Recipient: Bronx Economic Development Corporation
Address: 1057 Carroll Pl, Lot 23, Bronx, NY 10456
Purpose: The funding would be used to develop a community business development event space for the 15thCongressional District. Core components include preparation of construction, repaving the land, replacing the fencing, electrical utility work, accessibility/beautification upgrades and adding a new entrance way of an abandoned lot. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the South Bronx is critically underdeveloped. A space for economic development organizations to meet and work on business development and capital access in the Bronx is necessary. This project will create a space for community organizations to come together and work on economic development initiatives.
Project Name: BronxWorks McLaughlin Center HVAC System Upgrades
Request Amount: $750,000
Intended Recipient: BronxWorks
Address: 1130 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10456
Purpose: The funding would be used to replace the antiquated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a five-story, 42,500 square foot community facility used daily by 200 neighborhood residents. The HVAC upgrade will ensure effective heat distribution in the winter, cool air distribution in the summer, ad proper air flow in all seasons to reduce the spread of airborne particulate matter throughout the building, especially in high-traffic areas like the McLaughlin Center’s second and fourth floors. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the McLaughlin Center includes a gym, dining room, senior center, four classrooms used for pre-GED and GED classes, and offices all used for youth and senior programming. Improving the HVAC system is essential to BronxWorks’ ability to deliver high quality, neighborhood-resident focused services throughout the year for a population with poverty rates as high as 50%.
Project Name: CareerWise Bronx Apprenticeship Training Center
Request Amount: $1,750,000
Intended Recipient: CareerWise New York
Address: 500 Seventh Ave, Suite 9A-117, New York, NY 10018
Purpose: The funding would be used to purchase a property for a new workforce training facility to support the expansion of the CareerWise New York apprenticeship programming to accommodate 1,000 youth apprentices in tech, finance, and business fields. CareerWise New York is an industry-designed, career-first training model of modern youth apprenticeships. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the direct beneficiaries are New York City public high school students, especially low-income students of color, who would have access to high quality earn and learn opportunities that afford them upward economic mobility.
Project Name: Concourse Village Podium Repairs
Request Amount: $5,000,000
Intended Recipient: New York State Housing Finance Agency
Address: 641 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022
Purpose: The funding would be used to repair the podium structure that supports six high rise residential towers of affordable cooperative housing for moderate to low-income families. Concourse Village is also home to an active community center servicing the community at large. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because without the needed repairs to the podium, over 5,000 individuals, mostly senior citizens, will become homeless should the development continue to structurally degrade.
Project Name: Evander Childs Educational Campus Cafeteria Renovations
Request Amount: $4,000,000
Intended Recipient: New York City Department of Education
Address: 800 E Gun Hill Rd, Bronx, NY 10467
Purpose: The funding would be used to renovate a cafeteria that services students from six different New York City public high schools. Scope of work includes new self-serving refrigerators and salad bars, ADA-compliant café style dining furniture, aesthetic enhancements such as new paint, floors, and art, and air conditioners for kitchens, including electrical work. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it directly impacts the daily life of thousands of low-income public-school students in NY-15.
Project Name: Fountain House Bronx Residence
Request Amount: $750,000
Intended Recipient: Fountain House
Address: 425 W 47th Street, New York, NY 10037
Purpose: The funding would be used to construct one new 10-story, 31-unit supportive housing residence. The new supportive housing residence will provide 30 studio units of affordable rental housing, with 60 percent of units reserved for formerly homeless individuals with severe mental illness. The remaining units will be reserved for individuals with incomes up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. Fountain House will provide onsite social services that will be available to all building residents. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the Bronx has the highest prevalence of serious psychological distress in New York City and individuals are at risk of becoming homeless without the proper support, further exacerbating the city’s unhoused population issue.
Project Name: Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center Backyard and Security Upgrades
Request Amount: $855,000
Intended Recipient: Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center
Address: 2007 Mapes Ave, Bronx, NY 10460
Purpose: The funding would be used for the renovations of the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center’s backyard space. Upgrades to the backyard, including athletic equipment (basketball hoops and an electric scoreboard), water fountains, a playground set, new flooring, repairs to the retaining wall, and enhanced security features like cameras, will provide families in the community a safe space to socialize and learn through scheduled programming. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the East Tremont and Crotona neighborhoods of the Bronx have become high-risk areas for crime, tremendously affecting the families within the community. Investing in the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center’s site will provide much needed alternative options and opportunities for vulnerable populations.
Project Name: Muslim American Society Bronx Muslim Center
Request Amount: $4,000,000
Intended Recipient: Muslim American Society of Upper New York
Address: 702 Rhinelander Ave, Bronx, NY 10462
Purpose: The funding would be used to construct a community center to serve the surrounding youth and senior population. The Bronx Muslim Center already serves the community and provides a host of programs ranging from food drives to job training to housing assistance in a space too small to meet the growing demand for services. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the construction of the Bronx Muslim Center will allow the center to increase its social services to the community.
Project Name: New York Public Library Tremont Branch Roof Replacement
Request Amount: $500,000
Intended Recipient: New York Public Library
Address: 1866 Washington Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457
Purpose: The funding would be used for a comprehensive roof replacement at the Tremont branch. The roof at this branch is currently past its useful life and patching has been required to address leaks and saturated areas. Leaks cause programming areas to close to the public, and risk damaging collections, technology, and other library assets. Roof replacement will provide enhancements for flashing, ductwork, and drainage. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the library serves approximately 30,000 patrons a year, hosting over 1,500 programs with over 17,000 attendees in fiscal year 2019 prior to Covid programming changes, and 277 programs with 2,082 participants in fiscal year 2022 as programming began to return to a more comprehensive scale.
Project Name: New York Public Library West Farms Branch Roof Replacement
Request Amount: $500,000
Intended Recipient: New York Public Library
Address: 2085 Honeywell Avenue, Bronx, NY 10460
Purpose: The funding would be used for a comprehensive roof replacement project at the West Farms branch. The roof at this branch is currently past its useful life and patching has been required to address leaks and saturated areas. Leaks can cause programming areas to close to the public, and risks damaging collections, technology, and other Library assets. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the library serves approximately 60,000 patrons a year, hosting over 1,200 programs with over 11,000 attendees in fiscal year 2019 prior to Covid programming changes, and 542 programs with over 4,000 participants in fiscal year 2022 as programming began to return to a more comprehensive scale. The West Farms library is located on Honeywell Avenue, with PS 067 Mohegan School and MS 129 Academy for Independent Learning and Leadership nearby.
Project Name: NYCHA Morrisania Air Rights Sensory Playground and Sensory Garden
Request Amount: $750,000
Intended Recipient: Fund for Public Housing
Address: 3200 Park Avenue, Bronx, NY
Purpose: The funding would be used to reclaim a blighted play area at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Morrisania Air Rights (MAR) development and transform it into a vibrant, welcoming, and accessible playground-for-all that will include state of the art sensory play equipment to serve the needs of NYCHA youth with autism and other developmental disabilities. Funding would also be used to improve and activate inactive open space, removing antiquated play equipment, and replace the space with a sensory garden and sitting area for NYCHA’s youngest and oldest residents. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the playground and garden will serve a much larger community than just NYCHA’s Morrisania Air Rights, offering an opportunity for families with children and older adults with autism and disabilities to engage and enjoy play space. The project would serve four NYCHA communities, MAR, Jackson, East 152nd Street-Courtlandt Avenue, Melrose and Jackson Houses, comprising nearly 5,000 residents in NY-15.
Project Name: Word of Life Community Center
Request Amount: $1,500,000
Intended Recipient: Word of Life International
Address: 830 Union Ave Bronx, NY 10459
Purpose: The funding would be used to purchase a new building at 447 Jackson Ave, Bronx, NY, aimed to serve as a community center. Word of Life International (WOL) currently supports the community by providing food assistance through its weekly pantry distributions, workforce development and job placement, as well as other needed social services. WOL is seeking to purchase a bigger space to accommodate the growing demand for services. Its current space has outdated refrigeration systems which significantly constrains the food assistance program. The new building would allow WOL to increase its scope of services to the community. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because WOL serves a population of low-income Bronx residents. Currently about 20,000 household members benefit from the food pantry and meal program each month.