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The Bridge Horticulture Program just took a huge step forward. Dr. Peter Beitchman, Executive Director of The Bridge, recently announced that George Ball, Chairman of the Board of the Burpee Foundation, has awarded a generous $25,000 grant for The Bridge Urban Farm Horticultural Program. The goals of the Urban Farms are to teach clients about the benefits of eating vegetables and fruit, provide free and easy access to vegetables in order to increase their intake in order to improve their health; to reduce reliance on food banks and other food resources, and to teach them about good nutrition. The farms also provide our clients with work training opportunities in horticulture and paid jobs.
As reported in the New York Non Profit Press, Dr. Beitchman said, “We are delighted that The Burpee Foundation has donated this generous grant to our Urban Farm Horticultural Program. George Ball and The Burpee Foundation were pioneer supporters of The Bridge’s Horticultural program when it began in 2005.”
The Bridge Horticulture Program, in collaboration with The Horticultural Society of NY, began on the garden roof deck of the Manhattan headquarters of The Bridge (where a plaque commemorates the Burpee Foundation support), and has expanded to include two urban farms, one in the Bronx and one in East Harlem. The Urban Farm Program has grown dramatically as it impacts several neighborhoods throughout the city.
For the clients of The Bridge, eating and growing their own vegetables and fruits, coupled with working and being outdoors triggers both illness prevention and healing responses. Clients have started and maintain a blog of their experiences called My Urban Farm where they outline their accomplishments and illustrate their enthusiasm and involvement.
The Herkimer Street building in Brooklyn is one of 4 projects in The Bridge pipeline that will provide housing for homeless adults with serious mental illness, and for the first time, in an integrated building with low-income families. The Herkimer Street building in Brooklyn will be our first mixed use or integrated building which will offer housing and support services for 20 young adults aging out of foster care and/or the children's mental health system, 20 adults recovering from serious mental illness, and 20 low-income families from the community.
Mixed-use housing for homeless is a model supported by the New York State Office of Mental Health that integrates people with mental illness into a building with families and other individuals. As outlined in the "Guiding Principles for the Redesign of OMH Housing and Community Support Policies, May 2007," this model helps to reduce stigma associated with mental illness, is more accepted by communities because it provides much needed housing for community residents, and it provides opportunities for recovery and rehabilitation.
The Bridge has now signed a contract of sale for the vacant piece of land for development and DeLaCour & Ferrara Architects have completed a feasibility study that determines the size of the building, number of units it can accommodate based on the zoning, a schematic design and layout as well as the costs to build. The next step in the process will be environmental reviews and approvals and a financing plan with support from OMH and low-income housing tax credits.
As with our other new developments, we are very excited about exploring green building elements such as solar energy and materials that will help to save energy costs as well as being good for the environment.
The Bridge is moving on up with green mental health housing upgrades to be completed by December 31st of 2010. Through innovative re-financing secured through Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Bridge was able to secure $5 million of capital necessary to upgrade residence buildings that were opened between 1983 and 1992. This undertaking is called the 202 Revitalization Project and involves the renovations, upgrades and energy-efficient/green additions to 5 Housing and Urban Development (HUD 202) mortgaged properties that Bridge bundled together under this one project.
The project has immeasurably enhanced the quality of life for the 76 tenants who are mentally ill, formerly homeless and aging. The green housing upgrades include new energy star windows, elevator and fire alarm upgrades, new kitchens and some bathrooms, new low flow toilets and shower heads, mailboxes, energy star appliances, new energy efficient lighting in the apartments, stairwells and all common areas, weatherproofing and some re-pointing as needed, insulation and white roofs, painting (using low VOC paint and adhesives), and handicap accessible hardware for all entry doors.
Energy audits were conducted by EME Group and each green mental health housing building qualifies for NYSERDA incentives by reaching 20% reduction in energy costs. This was a difficult project in that the tenants remained in place. Every level of the agency staff including administrators, finance, housing directors, area directors, managers and line staff as well as facilities and maintenance staff worked together to accomplish the project which will be completed by December 31, 2010 in order to meet the LIHTC requirements and secure the tax credits.
Richman Housing Resources is the syndicator; Nixon Peabody LLP is the counsel; DeLaCour & Ferrara Architects P.C. is the architectural design firm; P&P Contracting Corporation is the general contractor; and Aaron Lewit is the owner's representative.
