2008 Big Apple Innovation Awards
On May 29th, LISC NYC hosted its 11th Annual Big Apple Innovation Awards. Over 400 individuals came together at Tavern on the Green to celebrate outstanding achievements in community development. Richard Manson, LISC’s Vice President for the Northeast Region, and Maurice Coleman, Chair of the LISC NYC Local Advisory Board, both spoke about the importance of preserving the City’s stock of affordable housing, before proceeding onto the awards presentation. The 2008 Big Apple awardees are:
Alianza Dominicana, Inc, for their unwavering commitment to the residents of Washington Heights and the recent start of construction of their Triangle building, was recognized with the Lisa and Dick Cashin Champion of Community Development Award. Alianza Dominicana is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive Dominican community development agency in the United States. The Triangle Building is their first foray into real estate development and, when completed, will be a 48,000 square foot, six story mixed use building that will house for-profit businesses and non-profit services. Included in the building will be the Casa Afro-Quisqueya Cultural Center (a non-profit affiliated with Alianza), a multi-disciplinary cultural space to showcase Dominican and Latino culture.
Robert Brandwein, was presented with the Leah Schneider Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished record of support to the economic development projects of non-profit developers. Mr. Brandwein is President of Policy and Management Associates of Boston, Massachusetts. During his 40 year career he has been in the forefront of the community economic development field. Mr. Brandwein has been working with LISC and its CDC constituency since 1985. For LISC NYC he has been instrumental in assisting 18 of our partner CDCs obtain 30 economic development grants totaling $16 million.
Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) was given the Innovation of the Year Award for their preservation of Magnolia Plaza, a 102-unit affordable housing development in Brooklyn, NY. In 2004, the building was facing imminent foreclosure due to management lapses and poor HUD oversight. The tenants, who controlled the board of directors of the building’s nonprofit owner, enlisted the help of PACC to save their homes. PACC rallied the support of local public officials and government agencies and successfully negotiated a plan with HUD that called for the transfer of the property to a new not-for-profit entity controlled by PACC and with continued tenant representation. In August 2007, PACC hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the successful preservation of the housing development.
Bank of America was the lead sponsor for this year’s Big Apple.