Senior & People with Disabilities Affordable Homes Breaks Ground

October 4, 2018, Bethpage, NY, USA – Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities (ACLD) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas has announced the groundbreaking of Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC in Bethpage, NY on the campus of ACLD. A special ceremony and press conference was held to kick-off the ground breaking of the new community which will include 36 affordable apartments for low and moderate income households for people age 62 or older with incomes up to 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, plus 12 apartments for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities age 21 or older with incomes up to 50 percent of the area median income. The location of Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC is 807 South Oyster Bay Road, Bethpage, NY. This is only one of three housing projects in 2017 approved by OPWDD and the only one on Long Island.

The ceremony was led by ACLD Executive Director Robert C. Goldsmith, HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, Long Island Regional Director of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) Jacquelyn Best and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "Oyster Bay Gardens will provide 48 households with the opportunity to get the affordable housing they need to take part in our growing economy and live independently in the community they love. Thanks to the State's $20 billion, five-year housing plan, we are investing in projects like this across the State and right here in Bethpage, where they play an important role in keeping the Long Island economy moving forward."

Designed by Fusion Architecture, the three-story Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC will include a laundry room with washers and dryers on each of floor, and a common area on the first floor which will include a community room, computer room, exercise room, storage room and lounge. The development and construction of the building is being overseen by ACLD.

Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC is conveniently located near local bus lines, the Long Island Railroad, retail shops, dining and restaurants, convenience stores, and government offices. An added benefit for the residents of Oyster Bay Gardens is its close proximity to the Charles Evans Center (CEC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) on the grounds of ACLD's campus. CEC provides medical, dental, psychiatry, neurology and behavioral health services and is part of a network of FQHC's led by Hudson River Health Care, a leading safety net provider serving Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

The total development cost of Oyster Bay Gardens, LLC is $18.9 million. New York State's investment includes $9.5 million through HCR's Housing Finance Agency's tax-exempt bonds, its New Construction Program loan of $5 million, $2.2 million through its Supportive Housing Opportunity Program, an allocation of Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and $2.25 million in capital construction loans provided by OPWDD which will also provide rental subsidy assistance for the 12 supportive units.

The development is part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's unprecedented $20 billion, five-year plan to create or preserve more than 100,000 affordable homes and 6,000 homes with supportive services. Since 2011, HCR has provided $266 million in resources to build or preserve more than 2,200 affordable homes on Long Island.

"At ACLD, we are dedicated to improving the lives of the people we support and provide them with opportunities to live an exceptional and enviable life," said Robert C. Goldsmith, ACLD Executive Director. " We have made it our mission and priority to lead the effort on Long Island to secure resources to build safe and supportive housing environments for those with special needs as well as those who face affordable housing challenges."

Founded in 1957, ACLD is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit agency whose mission is to provide opportunities to more than 3,000 children and adults with autism, learning and developmental disabilities to pursue enviable lives, promote independence and foster supportive relationships within the community. ACLD employs more than 1,300 people and operates 80 different program sites including community residences and apartment programs across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Services include early childhood services, day habilitation, residential alternatives, vocational training and job placement, recreation programs, respite, family support services, and occupational, speech and physical therapies. For more information: www.acld.org.

The mission of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is to build, preserve and protect affordable housing and increase home ownership across the state. HCR is charged with carrying out the Governor's $1 billion HOUSE NY plan, by leveraging New York's Federal and State community development resources, creating affordable housing opportunities Statewide. HCR programs provide financing to create and preserve multifamily housing; administer programs to improve housing conditions, ensure accessibility, and save energy; bonding authority and other resources to facilitate local public improvements and job creation; and help thousands of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers purchase a home. For more information: www.nyshcr.org.

For press Inquiries please email: pressoffice@nyshcr.org.
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PHOTO CAPTION – PHOTO 1: Pictured from left to right at the groundbreaking of Oyster Bay Gardens, the new dual use affordable housing community that will be located at Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc.'s (ACLD) Bethpage Campus to include 48 apartments for senior citizens as well as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are: Richard Breuninger, ACLD Board of Trustees First Vice President; Laura Curran, Nassau County Executive; RuthAnne Visnauskas, New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner; Jacquelyn Best, Long Island Regional Director, Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD); Robert C. Goldsmith, Executive Director, ACLD; Richard Kessel, Chairman, Nassau County IDA; and Michael A. Montesano.

PHOTO CAPTION – PHOTO 2:Pictured at the groundbreaking of Oyster Bay Gardens, the new dual use affordable housing community that will be located at Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc.'s (ACLD) Bethpage Campus to include 48 apartments for senior citizens as well as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are Meryl Jackelow, ACLD Board of Trustees Member, (center) discussing the Oyster Bay Gardens affordable housing project with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and ACLD Executive Director Robert C. Goldsmith.

PHOTO CAPTION- PHOTO 3: Pictured is a conceptual rendering of Oyster Bay Gardens, the new dual use affordable housing community that will be located at Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Inc.'s (ACLD) Bethpage Campus to include 48 apartments for senior citizens as well as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.