NeighborWorks America Grants Will Support Efforts To Expand Affordable Housing Opportunities and Build Strong Neighborhoods

Congressional Documents & Publications

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,593,500 in federal funding for New York City and Long Island community development organizations in the national NeighborWorks America network. NeighborWorks America is a public nonprofit organization that provides grants and technical assistance to community development organizations that support affordable housing initiatives, neighborhood revitalization projects, small business lending, and more.

"Access to affordable housing is essential for the health of our families and the economic strength of our communities," said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. "This funding, from NeighborWorks America, will strengthen neighborhoods, remove blight, and provide safe, quality housing for New York families. I will continue to fight for and deliver funds to New York that help provide families and children with safe and affordable housing options."

"Every New Yorker deserves to have a safe place to live. These federal funds will support organizations in New York City and Long Island that are working to revitalize and improve their communities and that help provide affordable housing options for families in our state," said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "Access to safe and reliable housing is essential to the health of our communities, and I will always fight to ensure our communities have the resources they need."

NeighborWorks America was established by Congress in 1978 and is a network that includes more than 250 organizations nationwide. This funding will be used to support investments in community development and lending, including: the development of multi-family rentals, single-family rentals, for-sale housing, pre- and post-development activities; lending to support residential mortgages, down-payment assistance, and commercial small business lending. NeighborWorks collaborates with a wide range of community stakeholders to support local solutions to community development and affordable housing problems. NeighborWorks grants are often used as a "first in" or "last in" source of investment, allowing organizations to leverage the grants for additional funding.

In Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18), NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network provided over 457,000 Americans with housing and counseling services. In Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), Senators Schumer and Gillibrand fought to secure $150 million for NeighborWorks, a $10 million increase from FY18.