CHI and Suffolk County Locked in Battle with Southampton
posted 12/30/2011
With the number of homeless families soaring in Suffolk County, Suffolk County Commissioner Greg Blass has drawn a line in the sand against NIMBYism in Southampton. CHI recently opened a shelter for homeless families at a motel and some of the neighbors and politicians don’t like it.
Read the principled stand the Commissioner has taken…
Read the Southampton Press report.
Read the Newsday Editorial.
Hidden Cove served as a shelter when a similar crisis in homelessness occurred a decade ago.
CHI Awarded $640,000 by New York State for Down Payment Assistance to
Long Island Homeowners
It may be a terrific time to purchase a home with low interest rates and lower prices. And with CHI’s award from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, first time homebuyers may access up to $40,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. With new higher income eligibility criteria, you may have income of up to about $90,000 a year, depending upon family size. To learn how you can access this funding and receive free homebuyer counseling, call 1-866-HUD COUNSELING, or Click Here.
posted 12/21/2011
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New Higher Income Limits for $25,000 Grant Released
Family of 4 may earn up to $92,826
Click Here for details.
posted 12/12/2011
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Ardsley Waterwheel Project Approved!
On December 5, the Ardsley Village Board gave final site plan approval to the Waterwheel project, a 22-unit affordable condominium to be built on Saw Mill River Road in the village. The vote was unanimous.
The project includes 17 “fair and affordable” condominiums qualifying under the Westchester County/HUD Settlement, as well as five units designated as “workforce” housing at slightly higher, but still below-market prices with preferences for employees and volunteers of the village. The estimated prices for the two and three-bedroom affordable units will sell for around $200,000 and the workforce units between $350,000 and $360,000.
Click Here for the video.
For more information on the development, Click Here.
posted 12/12/2011
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Community Housing Innovations Celebrates 20 Years
Software magnate turned energy independence crusader warns of economic crash without transportation fuel competition
White Plains, NY. November 18, 2011. What former Vice President Al Gore has done to sound the alarm about Global Warming, Eyal Aronoff hopes to do about America’s oil addiction and its link to economic disaster. Like Gore, Aronoff makes a presentation that provides a new perspective on solving the problem. He notes that while the media focuses on “alternative energy,” such as wind, solar, and nuclear, none of these technologies impact oil.
Aronoff discussed the price of gasoline as a cause of poverty and recession at Community Housing Innovations’ 20th anniversary luncheon on November 17th at 1 pm at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle. His presentation had the audience in rapt attention.
“Oil is the dominant, nearly exclusive fuel in the transportation sector, where most pollution and greenhouse gases arise,” says Aronoff. “The United States spends $30 billion dollars on coal but $500 billion on oil. So, which do you think is more important?”
Aronoff noted that about one month ago, the non-partisan Peterson Institute issued a paper that found that one million Americans were pushed into poverty by increased gasoline prices, representing one-third of the increase in the poverty rate from 14.3% to 15.1%.
- Click here if you'd like to see Eyal Aronoff's call to action, it's on the web presented by his partner, Yossie Hollande.
- read more - posted 11/21/2011
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Community Housing Innovations to Feature Software Magnate Turned Energy Independence Advocate
Eyal Aronoff to be Keynote Speaker at 20th Anniversary Luncheon on Nov. 17th
What former Vice President Al Gore has done to sound the alarm about Global Warming, Eyal Aronoff hopes to do about America’s oil addiction and its link to economic disaster.
“Oil is the dominant, nearly exclusive fuel in the transportation sector, where most pollution and greenhouse gases arise,” says Aronoff. “The United States spends $30 billion dollars on coal but $500 billion on oil. So, which do you think is more important?”
Please join CHI and Eyal Aronoff on November 17th to celebrate 20 years of making a difference.
- read more - posted 11/15/2011
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JP MORGAN CHASE SETS PRECEDENT BY BRINGING UNDERWRITERS TO WESTCHESTER CHI
FAST TRACK® EVENT
September 15, 2011
White Plains, NY, September 15, 2011 - In a first for any nonprofit counseling agency in the nation, JP Morgan Chase has agreed to send a team of bank underwriters to White Plains with the ability to write loan modifications on the spot for homeowners facing foreclosure.
Chase has an active nationwide program offering such help through “800” numbers and local homeownership centers. However this is the first time the bank has been willing to send underwriters, with the power to give families relief on the spot, to work in collaboration with a nonprofit agency. The underwriters will be in White Plains for three days of private meetings with homeowners for what is called the CHI Fast Track® Loan Modification Event.
- read more - posted 9/15/2011
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75 HOMEOWNERS FIND RELIEF at CHI FAST TRACK™ FORECLOSURE PREVENTION EVENT
June 21-June 23, 2011
Catherine Griffin and her mother Elizabeth Doster, of Elmsford, NY have a story with a happy ending.
It began two years ago as they swam in a pool with millions of others losing their homes, trying to stay afloat while the bank holding their mortgage processed their application for a loan modification.
The process seemed endless and was fraught with misinformation and missing information. Calls to determine their status were either not answered or answered by call centers after unacceptably long delays. Once connected, anonymous representatives said their documents were lost or their applications lacked documentation. Of 1.1 million homeowners who tried to get a modification through a federal program that promised results in three months, most continue to wait in limbo for years.
Griffin and her mother were able to turn the tide when they heard about a White Plains, NY-based housing counseling not-for-profit, which was “fast tracking” the loan modification process. Community Housing Innovations (CHI) believed there was a better solution --organizing face-to- face meetings between banker and borrower.
- read more - posted 7/7/2011
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CHI receives 1.6 million from OTDA
CHI received an award of $1,600,000 from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) for rehabilitation of River House, a shelter for 32 homeless single men in Long Island. CHI currently provides emergency housing and supportive services at this site, which was licensed by OTDA 2007 as an Adult Care Facility – Shelter. The building, was constructed sometime prior to 1965, however, and additional funding was needed to address a variety of short-term and long-term needs, including the alterations necessary to accommodate 32 residents, cosmetic and security upgrades, and the installation of a variety of energy-efficient improvements. The building already has a handicapped accessible ramp and accessible bathroom on the first floor to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
Supportive services for the residents include 24/7 staffing. Case Managers assess, guide, assist, refer and motivate clients to follow and achieve goals set forth in the Independent Living Plan in order to attain functional independence and prompt progression to permanent housing.
(posted 6/20/2011)
I had an early morning meeting that bright, sunny morning of Sept. 11, 2001. It was yet another fruitless attempt to promote energy-saving geothermal heat pumps to the manager of an assisted living facility in Briarcliff Manor. When the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and then the second, I was so unnerved that on my way back to the office I drove 15 minutes in the wrong direction.