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Harlem News Group B R O N XHARLEM . QUEENS . BROOKLYN . BRONX

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The South Bronx Overall Eco-nomic Development Organiza-tion (SOBRO) hosted a Bronx

Leadership Forum with HousingPreservation and Development(HPD) Commissioner MatthewWambua. The leadership forum issponsored by the companies KatinMuchin, Cohn Reznik, BenchmarkTitle Agency, and Mecca Construc-tion. SOBRO President Phillip Mor-row introduced Mr. Wambua, whospoke on topics such as the Mayor'splan for 145,000 new and restoredunits of housing, and recovery effortsfrom Hurricane Sandy.

According to Mr. Wambua,a large portion of South Bronx hous-ing, about 20%, has been financedunder the Mayor's plan. This worksas a partnership of HPD- the housingagency, with the community of realestate developers, and everythinginvolves partnership with the privatesector. Over the last four years therehas been a pivot toward rehabilitationand preservation of housing versusnew housing. The real estate marketdownturn has been a big force in this.Bank liquidity is lower, but there isstill a large demand for housing.Before 2008, only 20% of the financ-

ing for this Mayor's program housingwas from HPD, but now it supplies50%.

The housing agency has anumber of current priorities-theHunter's Point development inQueens with 900 units, and theBrooklyn Academy of Music areawith 600 units. The refinancing ofCo-op City in the Bronx stands as anaccomplishment, with a $650 millionloan from the Federal Housingagency HUD and from NY State.This puts the affordable housing ofCo-op City on a solid basis for thenext 35 years, brings down the debtservice, and includes money for reno-vations. For the future, a redevelop-ment site in the Bronx is the nowclosed Spofford Avenue JuvenileDetention Center.

Big challenges for theagency are the huge budgetary cuts,mostly from the Federal government.Last year there was a cut of $90 mil-lion to the agency of an $800 millionbudget. Cuts in the Section 8 pro-gram due to the sequestration of theFederal budget mean less housing forthe poor. The good news is theimproving economy in the real estate,with continued low interest rates.

Construction prices are better nowthan at the height of the real estateboom.

Hurricane Sandy affectedNew York City housing stock withapproximately 61,000 units damagedor destroyed. The US Congressauthorized incremental funds forreconstruction, of which about $720million is going to New York Cityfor housing reconstruction, with $120million going to NYCHA (NYCHousing Authority).

One question for Mr.Wambua was on programs for low-income individuals. Much of thehousing programs are for people at40-50% income levels, but with cutsin Section 8, how do you help peoplein the 20%-40% demographic? Asuggestion from Mr. Wambua is forHUD to make modification to thelow-income tax credits program bypassing legislation to balance apart-ments for people at the lowestincome levels with those paying fullprice, so projects still average out to50%-60% income levels. SOBRO'sPhillip Morrow said that he wouldlike to have John Rhea of NYCHAspeak on low-income housing at afuture forum.

Guardians of Rescue and UrbanAnimal Alliance to Visit PS 85 inthe Bronx to Teach Compassion

SOBRO Hosts A Bronx LeadershipForum with HPD By: Howard Giske

Guardians of Rescue and The UrbanAnimal Alliance, two organizationscommitted to helping animals, have

teamed up to give the students at Public School85 in the Bronx a presentation on compassion.The two groups will join teachers in carryingout the "Circle of Compassion" presentation, inan effort to help children learn more about hav-ing compassion for animals. The presentationwill be held at the school on April 30, 2013, at9:00 a.m.

"We are excited to be teaming up withThe Urban Animal Alliance and the teachers ofP.S. 085," explains Robert Misseri, president ofGuardians of Rescue, a rescue group that helpsanimals. "Reaching kids with a message ofcompassion is beneficial both to animals and totheir fellow humans. The skills these studentslearn can be used anywhere."

The school, which is located in theBronx, is known as "The Great ExpectationsSchool." They teach over 1,100 children, main-ly serving the immigrant and minority popula-tion. Three second-grade teachers at the schoolcreated the "Circle of Compassion Project,"which will focus on building student awarenessand sensitivity toward the needs and cares ofanimals and each other. The animal rescuegroups will visit to take part in the presentationthat will be given to three second-grade classesand eight fourth-grade classes, approximately250 students in all. Some of the parents willalso be invited to attend the presentation.

Following the presentation, all of thestudents who attended will receive a book, onand about animals, that they can take home

with them. The books were purchased by TheFund for Public Schools for the project. Thepresentation will focus on building empathyand compassion for animals and others, as wellas exploring ways that students can deal withconflict resolution in healthy ways.

"The Circle of Compassion projecthas been an excellent way for me to help mystudents learn to show empathy and compas-sion," explains Patricia Spence, a second-gradeteacher at P.S. 085. "Through this project, theyare becoming more aware that animals, as wellas humans, have feelings and need to be takencare of. I can always refer to the puppets androle-playing they experienced to remind themthat saying 'sorry' and apologizing to eachother are peaceful ways to resolve conflicts."

"Congratulations to Guardians of Res-cue and Urban Animal Alliance and P.S. 085for mobilizing together to spread the messageof compassion for all sentient beings," saidRussell Simmons, entertainment mogul, entre-preneur, philanthropist, and animal advocate.

Guardians of Rescue provides assis-tance to animals out on the streets, helping torescue them, provide medical care, food andshelter, and find foster-home placement. Tolearn more, or to make a donation to supportthe Guardians of Rescue, log ontowww.guardiansofrescue.org. The Urban Ani-mal Alliance is a non-profit organization that iscommitted to raising awareness of the plightsof children and animals in urban America. Tolearn more, visit their site at www.urbanani-malalliance.org.