NYCHA Now

NYCHANow chronicles the hard work of the men and women who make the New York City Housing Authority run, reporting the latest news and happenings.

NYCHA Now
October 2015 

Launching the Fund for Public Housing

Michael Corwin
Michael Kelly at basketball court
Seeking patrons and supporters for NYCHA’s programs can be a tall order. The Monroe Houses basketball court was refurbished last June with support from NBA basketball star and former NYCHA resident Carmelo Anthony. Office of Public/Private Partnerships Director Rasmia Kirmani-Frye (at left) reaches out to famous NYCHA alumni, among others, for assistance. With her (l-r) are Councilmember Marcos Crespo, Carmelo Anthony, GM Michael Kelly, and Monroe Houses RA President Carlos Mora.

Rasmia Kirmani-Frye, the Director of NYCHA’s Office of Public/Private Partnerships, has been hard at work launching the Fund for Public Housing, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

A key NextGeneration NYCHA strategy, the Fund will increase investment in NYCHA communities, making them safer, cleaner, and more connected. It will be an important part of NYCHA’s transformation from direct service provision to a partnership-based service structure. The Fund will launch in the coming months, building on current innovative partnerships and creating new ones, with the goal of raising $50 million in its first year to invest in NYCHA and its residents.

The Fund is already recruiting an inaugural Board of Directors; in October, NYCHA will be posting the application for two resident Board members on the NYCHA website. It is vital to the success of the Fund’s mission that residents’ voices be well represented.

The Office of Public/Private Partnerships wants to hear from all interested residents about how they would like to contribute their unique strengths to the Board. One resident Board member will be chosen from a pool of applicants between the ages of 18 and 24 to develop leadership among younger NYCHA residents, and the other Board member can be over age 18. The resident Board members, working with the entire Board, will advise the Fund on achieving its goals and will create a network of resident-led support for the Fund.

“We are reaching out to residents to serve as Board members to ensure that we have strong input from the public housing community,” said Ms. Kirmani-Frye. “Public housing residents also can provide an extremely valuable network of supporters who can help us generate interest and resources that will enable unique partnerships and innovations to invest in public housing.”

Employees can let potentially interested residents know that the application for Board member positions and more detailed information will be online in mid-October, and should encourage them to apply. The position is a volunteer role that will require a commitment of approximately 10 hours per month, including one Board meeting each quarter. Feel free to email Ms. Kirmani-Frye or call her at 212-306-8210 with questions.