Upper East Side Residents and Elected Officials Welcome Win Supportive Housing Facility for Women and Children to the Neighborhood
New York, NY – Today residents and community leaders on the Upper East Side, including Congress Member Carolyn Maloney and Council Member Ben Kallos, joined Win, New York’s largest provider of shelter and supportive housing to homeless women and their children, to cut the ribbon on and welcome a supportive housing facility that will house sixteen families at 316 East 91st Street. The ceremony was attended by Win President and CEO Christine Quinn, State Senator Liz Krueger, State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright and Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Steven Banks. Community Board 8, faith and non-profit leaders, as well as principals, parents, and children who attend schools across the street from the new site were also in attendance.
Today’s ribbon-cutting marks the completion of construction on the seven-story building by RiverOak and Azimuth Development. Win’s new facility, which will start seeing its first residents move in over the fall, consists of 17 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The site also contains a Sunshine Early Learning Center for children living in the building.
21,821 children and 16,794 parents make up more than two-thirds of New York City’s homeless population which has reached crisis levels. In response, Council Members Ben Kallos and Dan Garodnick, Senator Liz Krueger and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer launched the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS) to connect city agencies with non-profits and faith-based institutions providing direct services to the homeless and to build new supportive housing on the Upper East Side. The coalition has since been joined by Council Member Keith Powers from District 4.
“These brand-new units of supportive housing will ensure that families have a safe, stable place to call home that will meet their long-term needs once they leave shelter,” said Christine C. Quinn, President and CEO of Win. “This great new development wouldn’t be possible without the steadfast support of the Upper East Side community – including city leaders like Councilman Ben Kallos – which is critical in combatting the city’s homelessness crisis. Win is dedicated to helping families get back on their feet, and this facility will provide the resources and support they need to break the cycle of homelessness permanently.”
“Supportive housing is an essential tool our City is using to help our neighbors in need get back on their feet,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “Every day, we’re connecting more New Yorkers experiencing homelessness or facing housing instability to the essential lifeline that a supportive housing placement provides. We’re proud to partner with Win on this project, which is a key component of our citywide effort, and look forward to opening doors of opportunity here, as we implement the City’s unprecedented NYC 15/15 initiative.”
“New York City’s homeless women and children need supportive housing that can help and set them up to succeed, I am thankful that Win is here doing the job. New York City needs more supportive housing in every neighborhood to get more than forty thousand parents and children out of shelters and into permanent housing,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, Co-Founder of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS). “‘Give me your tired, your poor … Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,’ you are welcomed here on the Upper East Side where we will feed you, clothe you, and build you supportive housing. Thank you to Win for bringing more supportive housing to the Upper East Side, Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services members for their leadership, fellow elected officials, Community Board 8 Manhattan, and to our principals, parents who are teaching us how important it is to welcome and support homeless individuals.”
"Quality supportive housing is one of the most effective ways to help people climb out of homelessness and get back on their feet, and Win has a long track record of success in providing these important programs. So I’m proud to join my colleagues and community members in welcoming Win and the families they work with to the Upper East Side. I look forward to doing everything I can to ensure this new site is a success." said Senator Liz Krueger, Co-Founder of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS).
“The homelessness crisis won’t be solved without greater access to supportive transitional housing, “said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Co-Founder of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS). “Congratulations to the East Side Task Force for Homeless Outreach and Services, which has set a great example by working proactively to bring Win and these new supportive housing units to the Upper East Side.”
“Ensuring that our most vulnerable New Yorkers—women and children—receive the supportive housing they need to succeed should be our utmost concern,” said Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney. “A shelter is no place for a child to grow up, and we need more housing in every neighborhood so that the more than forty thousand parents and children who are without permanent housing can be helped into a home. I am proud that the Upper East Side community has opened its arms to welcome these women and children to a new home. I want to thank Christine Quinn and Win, RiverOak, Azimuth, the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services members, Community Board 8, and my fellow elected officials for making this project a reality.”
“As we cut this ribbon and officially open 17 additional units of supportive housing, as well as a Sunshine Early Learning Center, let us recommit ourselves to the lofty goal of lending a hand to the less fortunate, feeding the hungry, providing jobs to the jobless, and housing the homeless. We must rededicate ourselves to expanding supportive housing. Like the 17 women and their children that will eventually occupy the space, supportive housing provides an important step in reducing homelessness, and provides life-saving services to those who are - far too often - forgotten, and left out of the economic prosperity of our city, said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright.”
"Community Board 8 is committed to addressing New York City's homelessness crisis," said Chair Alida Camp. "We are excited to welcome Win and their residents into our neighborhood, and we know they will be a great addition to our community. CB8 looks forward to exploring more possibilities with Win, our local Council Members, and the Department Social Services to help our neighbors in need."
“Affordable housing is good for the neighborhood and helps get homeless people off the streets. Without affordable housing the amount of people who live in subsidized or illegal apartments would increase as well as the level of homelessness in the city. We must help our community and can do that by supporting this affordable housing and all those that come after. Homelessness among children specifically has a very negative impact, as they do not have a set school and are constantly moving and missing school. Affordable housing helps a community, aids a family during hard times, and gives those in need the support of a home and all that follows thereafter, said Jack Zimmerman, former local student and community member.”
“As the principal of East Side Middle School, the public middle school directly across the street, I was delighted to be present at the start of construction for the Sunshine Learning Center, and I am even happier now to be present at its Ribbon Cutting. All of us at East Side Middle, the parents, the staff and the students welcome the families and the staff of Win and the Sunshine Learning Center to our block. We look forward to partnering with Win and the Learning Center in any way possible so that we can all learn from each other, “said David Getz, Principal East Side Middle School.
“At PS 527, the East Side School for Social Action, we pride ourselves on educating students to become leaders of tomorrow. Our students and families are committed to making our community, city, and world a better place for everyone. To this end, we look forward to welcoming new families into our school community and doing everything possible to help them succeed. We look forward to working with Win and the new 91st Street families. -- PS 527 East Side School for Social Action PTA Executive Board”
“The W house and the families that will live here are a wonderful addition to our community. We work together to make the Upper East Side a special place. We all care about your well-being. Thanks to our incredible federal, state and city elected officials this Win building stands as collective caring model that helps provide a better future for our new Win neighbors who will live just across the street from me,” said Rita Popper, President, Knickerbocker Plaza Tenants’ Association
“We welcome the new residents to our community and are grateful to Councilmember Ben Kallos, Win CEO Christine Quinn and all the other leaders without who's support this ribbon-cutting would not have been possible. Today's event proves that the efforts of dedicated and visionary leaders can make a postive difference in our world and in our community, “said Leonard Silverman Former East Side Middle School PTA President.”
“The Australian Indigenous activist, artist and academic Lila Watson speaking at the United Nations Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi declared: “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Providing supportive and affordable housing to the 60,000 homeless New Yorkers who are our neighbors and for the hundreds of thousand working poor who find themselves pushed out of our neighborhood because of the wildly escalating cost of housing isn't about us helping them, it is about all of us working together to create a more just and equitable society. Communities like this one that recognize that human worth is not predicated on whatever material assets we may or may not have but on the conviction that life is richer, communities are stronger, and neighborhoods are more self-sustaining when we open our hearts and doors to one another and say, "Welcome Home." said Reverend Roy Cole, Church of the Epiphany, a member of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS).
"Supportive housing is the best long-term solution we have to chronic homelessness—and we need more of it in New York City. Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter is thrilled to join with Council Member Kallos and the members of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless and Outreach Services to welcome WIN to the Upper East Side to provide these services to the women and children who are our newest neighbors on East 91st Street ," said Executive Director Ann Shalof, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, a member of ETHOS.
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About Win:
Since 1983, Win has been transforming the lives of New York City’s homeless women and their children by providing a holistic solution of safe housing, critical services and programs they need to succeed on their own — so the women can regain their independence and their children can look forward to a brighter future. With more than 1,600 units of transitional housing providing shelter for more than 4,600 people every night, Win focuses on solutions for the many causes of homelessness by helping women improve their job skills, life skills, personal health and more. Win’s children’s services include childcare, after school programs, and Camp Win, a summer day camp program. Win also provides permanent supportive housing offering dedicated, long-term support to families with additional needs.
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