City Finances 30,000 Affordable Homes in 2020

The newly financed homes keep New York City on track to meet its goal to provide 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. On February 9, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City financed the construction and preservation of 29,521 affordable homes in 2020. Fifty-seven percent of the affordable homes financed in 2020 will serve families of three that earn less than $52,000 per year. The city has financed over 177,000 homes through the Housing … <Read More>


Mayor Appoints Lorraine Grillo as City “Recovery Czar”

Grillo has prior experience managing recovery efforts from after Superstorm Sandy. On February 22, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of Lorraine Grillo as the City’s Senior Advisor for Recovery. As “Recovery Czar”, Grillo will coordinate the City’s recovery agenda, “Recovery for All,” across City agencies and work with non-profits and the private sector. The “Recovery for All” agenda highlights vaccination efforts, addressing unemployment, inequality, neighborhood policing, environmental justice issues and <Read More>


Mayor Announces Three New Mentorship Programs for M/WBEs

Three new mentorship programs are available for minority owned and women-owned small business in NYC. On January 7, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Jonnel Dorris announced three new mentorship programs, ‘Small Business Mentors NYC,’ ‘Black Entrepreneurs NYC Mentors (BE NYC Mentors),’ and ‘Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE Mentors).’


New York City Acquisition Fund to Have Exclusive Focus on M/WBEs and Nonprofits

The fund currently has $210 million in lendable proceeds. On January 21, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio, along with the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Housing Development Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and a coalition of public, private and philanthropic partners announced that the New York City Acquisition Fund (NYCAF) will exclusively serve Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (M/WBEs) and nonprofits to support affordable <Read More>


New Medgar Evers College Prep School Building to be Constructed in Brooklyn

The new building will replace eight Transportable Classroom Units. On November 23, 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the groundbreaking on the 681-seat new school building for the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Brooklyn. This project will be adjacent to the school’s current site at 1186 Carroll Street in Crown Heights. This project was undertaken by the Mayor’s Office in partnership with the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority, and the City University … <Read More>