General Information
NPC and RPC Conferences Held in Albany and Buffalo
Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies are a critical component of the DHCR delivery system, bringing a wide variety of services to low- and middle-income families, the elderly, and people with special needs.
The two coalitions representing this vast network of grass-roots organizations held their annual conferences in October, and as usual, DHCR played an active role in both. Commissioner VanAmerongen was a guest speaker at each of the conferences, and discussed the partnership between DHCR and community-based housing organizations. She noted that in 2008, NPCs and RPCs accounted for:
- 65% of all HOME Local Program awards;
- 64% of all RESTORE awards;
- 41% of all Access to Home awards;
- 33% of Main Street awards; and
- 50% of Urban Initiative awards
Other DHCR staff also played a role in the conferences. The NPC conference in Albany featured a presentation on subprime foreclosure by Assistant Commissioner Lori Harris, who oversees DHCR's new Subprime Foreclosure Prevention program. William Allen, deputy director of the Community Services Bureau, teamed up with Joe Agostine, executive director of the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, to present a workshop on updates to the preservation program certification process.
Presenters at the RPC conference in Buffalo included Joe Rabito, deputy commissioner of the Office of Community Renewal (OCR) who spoke on CDBG-Funded Economic Development Programs, and Gary Hallock, deputy commissioner of the Office of Community Development, who discussed the Rural Area Revitalization and Small Project Programs together with Lenny Skrill, director of Upstate development.
Anna Oles from the Office of Community Development and Tom Carey, assistant director of community development, presented workshops at both conferences. Anna spoke on the Assets for Independence program and Tom discussed energy efficiency upgrades.
Chris Leo, Senior Community Developer from the Office of Community Renewal, presented a workshop on combining NY Main Street and CDBG economic development grants and Peggy Aldrich and Dave Unger, from the Office of Community Development, presented a workshop on the HOME program.
Last Updated: 11/03/08