Federal, State, and City Officials Join Project Renewal to Break Ground on Bronx Supportive and Affordable Housing Development Featuring Rooftop Fish and Produce Garden and Living Green Façade

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Bedford Green House will house more than 160 residents and include an aquaponics greenhouse, along with other innovative features

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and TD Bank today joined Project Renewal at a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on Bedford Green House in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. The $58.8 million, 118-unit development will provide supportive and affordable housing for more than 160 residents, including families, singles, and seniors. The project will feature a number of unique and innovative elements including a rooftop aquaponics greenhouse, a living green façade, a community playground, and custom artwork from the Bronx community. Located at 2865 Creston Avenue, the 13-story, block-and-plank building will meet or exceed LEED Gold standards for energy efficiency and environmentally friendly design. We are thrilled to break ground on Bedford Green House, a development that will provide high-quality affordable and supportive housing for hundreds of individuals and families.

CommunityWire

New York City Mission Society Serves 300 at 14th Annual Thanksgiving Harvest Community Dinner

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-Board Members Jean Shafiroff and Jay Moorhead underwrite the event-

(New York, N.Y.) – Striving to help its program participants and community members start the holiday season with a hot meal, the New York City Mission Society provided more than 300 meals at its 14th Annual Thanksgiving Harvest Community Dinner at Minisink Townhouse on Thursday, November 16. New York City Mission Society alumni and staff, Board Members, community members, and volunteers served the meals, while students in the nonprofit’s afterschool free music education program, GRIOT, performed onstage in the auditorium. This event has been underwritten by Board Members Jean Shafiroff and Jay Moorhead. Sponsors and volunteer groups included Chase, Nike, Kohl’s and Whole Foods. “The families we serve face numerous challenges each day, and the holidays can be especially tough,” said New York City Mission Society President Elsie McCabe Thompson.

CommunityWire

The Workmen’s Circle to Honor American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten at Annual Winter Benefit on November 30

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The Workmen’s Circle will honor its historic partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its President, Randi Weingarten, at its Annual Winter Benefit on Thursday, November 30. “The American Federation of Teachers and the Workmen’s Circle have been partners and allies for many decades. Under Randi Weingarten’s leadership, the AFT has stood alongside us on many issues of social and economic justice—most recently, supporting immigrant rights, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and condemning acts of violence and bias in Charlottesville,” said Ann Toback, Executive Director of the Workmen’s Circle. “The Workmen’s Circle’s mission is to build a shenere un besere velt far ale – a better and more beautiful world for all. We echo the ideals that the AFT espouses— our collective strength.

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Flatiron Partnership and Van Alen Institute Unveil Winner of Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition: Flatiron Reflection by Future Expansion

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On Thursday, October 26, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Van Alen Institute unveiled the winner of the fourth annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition—Flatiron Reflection by Future Expansion—a temporary installation in the heart of the Flatiron District. Flatiron Reflection will be the centerpiece of the Partnership’s sixth annual holiday program and a highly visible landmark in this thriving New York City neighborhood. Flatiron Reflection is a publicly spirited space that encourages new experiences of the city, new modes of dwelling in the plaza, and new views of its context. A bundle of shimmering tubes creates a fragmented column at the scale of the public plaza. The fluted perimeter offers niches that can be occupied, while a panoramic central space opens out like a stage into the plaza.

Johnny Mac Tennis Project Pro Am Raises More Than $300,000 to Make Tennis a Game Changer for New York Kids

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– One of the World’s Largest Pro Am Features Doubles Event With Tennis Legends at SPORTIME Amagansett in Support of the Johnny Mac Tennis Project –
(East Hampton, N.Y.)–Tennis legends John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe, Chris Evert, Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, stage, screen and television actress Jane Krakowski, and nearly 200 other tennis pros, amateurs, enthusiasts and spectators attended the Johnny Mac Tennis Project’s (JMTP) Third Annual JMTP Pro Am—one of largest Pro Ams in the world—in the Hamptons on Saturday, August 26. Under sunny skies, the sold out, star-studded event—which has quickly become the premiere Pro Am in the Hamptons—raised more than $300,000 to support JMTP programs, including more than $100,000 raised at an evening auction. Illustrated by a moving video that launched the event under a tent on the grounds of SPORTIME Amagansett, the JMTP provides scholarships that change young lives by removing the economic and social barriers to success through tennis. “The Johnny Mac Tennis Project believes that tennis is a change agent and a sport of opportunity for kids,” said JMTP Executive Director Ron Nano. “Our Tennis Pathway to Success® initiative provides multiple, year-round opportunities, from introductory programs provided to schools and community-based organizations, which focus on cultivating healthy lifestyles and self-discipline, to world-class tournament training for aspiring college scholarship recipients and professional athletes.”

John McEnroe said, “We created an annual event with 128 players, which is the size of a Grand Slam draw – pretty incredible.

CommunityWire

Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Baruch College Host Free Small Business Assistance Forum on Tuesday, September 12

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(New York, NY) – The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Baruch College will host their annual Small Business Assistance Forum on Tuesday, September 12 at Baruch College’s William and Anita Newman Conference Center. This year’s event, titled “The Launch. The Buzz. The Buy-in,” will focus on entrepreneurship from the launch of a business to its growth. Glenn Emanuel, a lecturer with the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, will moderate a panel discussion with an esteemed panel of successful entrepreneurs: Ben Guttmann of Digital Natives; Katherine Quiles of ATAX; David Steingard of Laughing Man Coffee; and Leanne Shear of Uplift Studios.

CommunityWire

Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership’s Flatiron Summer Series to Feature Free Tech Classes, Fitness, Games, and Entertainment on the Flatiron Public Plazas

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(New York, NY) – The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) will hold eight weeks of free programming—fitness classes, tech courses, games, and entertainment—on the Flatiron Public Plazas in the shadow of the iconic Flatiron Building this summer. The BID will mark the opening week of the 2017 Flatiron Summer Series with a special event—in partnership with the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)—to celebrate the Summer Solstice on Wednesday, June 21. Starting the day before that, activities will run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday through August 10 on the Flatiron Public Plazas at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. “Our free, lively programming on the Flatiron Public Plazas is the perfect way to spend a summer evening in New York City,” said the Flatiron BID’s Executive Director Jennifer Brown. “Each year our Summer Series draws more residents, employees, and visitors to the plaza.

Project Renewal Celebrates 50th Anniversary and Raises Over $1.5 Million for Homeless Services at Annual Gala Benefit & Auction

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Project Renewal, the nonprofit organization that empowers homeless New Yorkers to renew their lives through comprehensive medical, housing and job programs, raised over $1.5 million at its 27th Annual Gala Benefit and Auction held June 8 at Spring Studios. More than 600 guests—a record for Project Renewal galas—celebrated the 50th anniversary of the organization, which started as the city’s first medical detox clinic on the Bowery in 1967, and has since expanded to serve over 16,000 men, women, and children annually with a wide range of innovative programs. The evening included cocktails, dinner and a live auction. “We are delighted to celebrate Project Renewal’s pioneering role in helping homeless New Yorkers renew their lives and reclaim hope over the last 50 years,” said Project Renewal President and CEO Mitchell Netburn. “We are extremely grateful for the generosity of our board members, donors and volunteers. Their support will enable us to expand our work to break the cycle of homelessness for the 16,000 men, women and children we help each year.”

At the event, Project Renewal also honored Deanna Mulligan, President and CEO of Guardian and former member of Project Renewal’s Board of Trustees, who has demonstrated her dedication to ending homelessness in New York City through her generous support of the organization.