MHACY Announces Partnership with Groundwork Hudson Valley

YONKERS, NY (June 17, 2021) – The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers (MHACY) has announced a partnership with Groundwork Hudson Valley and leading urban design firm, Mark K. Morrison Landscape Architecture, to provide green infrastructure and planning services at four MHACY housing sites.

Under the proposal, environmentally friendly landscaping using native plantings would be completed at the Ross F. Calcagno Homes, Joseph F. Loehr Court, Kris Kristensen Homes, and Msgr. Cajetan J. Troy Manor in Yonkers.

Groundwork Hudson Valley’s award-winning Green Team will plant trees and build bioswales on the properties to address the environmental justice impacts of extreme heat caused by increasing global temperatures. These heat islands have been directly tied to historic redlining maps. At the same time, this will create green oases in these urban communities and significantly reduce stormwater pollution into four major waterways - the Hudson, Saw Mill, Sprain, and Bronx Rivers.

“We are thrilled to have the pre-eminent environmental partner in the Hudson Valley assisting us in making our properties environmentally friendly,’’ said Wilson Kimball, President and CEO of the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers. “Making this even more special is that Yonkers youth who are part of the Green Team will learn about the environment as well as engage our residents in the planning of this project.’’

Brigitte Griswold, Groundwork’s Executive Director, who is leading a broader Climate Safe Neighborhoods Initiative for the city, said “We applaud the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers for investing in the environmental health of their properties. This translates into an is an investment in the multi-generational health of their residents. Yonkers has a long history of innovation. We are proud to be a partner in this truly innovative work that will positively impact many of our most vulnerable residents.

The landscaping project will put the finishing touches on more than $800 million which have been invested over the past five years to modernize more than 1,700 units of housing run by the Municipal Housing Authority in Yonkers.

In February 2021, MHACY and Groundwork Hudson Valley released a feasibility study that laid out a far-reaching plan for creating environmental resiliency in one of the region’s largest affordable housing systems. The Hudson Valley region is expecting more intense rainfall over the next decade and many more heat waves due to climate change. Research shows that people living in low-income areas are more vulnerable to climate risks due to historic redlining policies that left them in more environmentally hazardous neighborhoods. The proposed work will benefit hundreds of low-income residents in modest apartment buildings across the MHACY system.

Please find a link to the study here: https://www.groundworkhv.org/2021/02/feasibility-study-for-green-infrastructure/.

About the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers

The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers (“MHACY”) owns and manages a wide variety of properties, and administers a Housing Choice Voucher Program, to provide affordable, stable, decent and safe housing opportunities within the City of Yonkers. In pursuing our mission we work collaboratively with federal and state officials, and with the City of Yonkers, as their participation and assistance is essential in addressing the housing needs of families with very low income.

About Groundwork Hudson Valley

Groundwork Hudson Valley creates sustainable environmental change in urban neighborhoods through community-based partnerships that promote equity, youth leadership, and economic opportunity. For over twenty years, Groundwork has made neighborhoods more livable and sustainable through an array of on-the-ground environmental projects that directly involve local residents. We restore rivers and build trails, parks, and playgrounds. We engage community members in all of our work – with a particular focus on educating and employing young people. For more information, contact Groundwork Hudson Valley at 914-375-2151 or visit groundworkhv.org.