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Town to Receive $1.265 Million Restore NY Communities Grant to Revitalize New Cassel


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2022
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gordon Tepper, Rebecca Cheng and Michael Anderson | (516) 869-7794
                                   Brian Devine | (516) 869-2475

Town to Receive $1.265 Million Restore NY Communities Grant to Revitalize New Cassel  

North Hempstead, NY – North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and Council Member Robert Troiano announced today that the Town was awarded $1.265 million in grant funds from the Restore New York Communities Initiative. The Restore New York Grant will support the redevelopment of three vacant and abandoned properties in New Cassel.

The New Cassel Workforce Housing Phase III Development (“Development”) is led by the Town of North Hempstead Community Development Agency (“CDA”) to redevelop and sell homes to eligible first-time homebuyers selected through a lottery. This Development will turn vacant and underutilized properties into brand-new affordable workforce homes.

“I am so proud that the Town was one of the select communities across New York State to be awarded funds through the Restore NY Communities Grant,” Supervisor DeSena said. “Once completed, these brand-new homes will improve the community, help stimulate the economy, and aid in revitalizing New Cassel. Thank you to the Town’s Community Development Agency for their steadfast work to implement the community’s vision for the future of New Cassel, which will continue to be shepherded along by the acquisition and redevelopment of these vacant, underutilized, and deteriorated properties.”

“This grant supports the New Cassel Revitalization and will allow us to offer quality, affordable housing to the area’s residents,” said Council Member Troiano. “Over the last several years, we have seen the successful redevelopment of blighted properties along Prospect Avenue, the conversion of the Grand Street School into the Homestead Senior Apartments and the creation of the award-winning, intergenerational “Yes We Can” Community Center. I want to congratulate the CDA for securing this grant which enables the work of the past several years to continue.”

The Restore NY Communities Grant will bridge construction budget funding gaps due to demolition expenses, increased material and labor costs, and supply chain shortages. The three properties selected were identified as zombie homes by the Town’s Zombie Home task force, funded by a NYS Attorney General’s Office grant. These properties have been vacant for many years.

Once completed, the homes will be sold to families with incomes at or below 80% of HUD’s Area Median Income. For 2022, the income limit for a family of four is $116,250. The Town will conduct a lottery to select homeowners. Prospective homebuyers are provided counseling and granted down payment assistance to facilitate homeownership. The CDA completed and sold 19 similar workforce homes over the past 10 years.

The Town and the CDA are leveraging other grants for the project, such as US Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield grants and HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)




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