Manhattan Valley Development

MVDC aims to help low and moderate income residents as well as the unemployed and public assistance remain recipients in an area surrounded by Central Park West and higher earning populations. Over the past 40 years, MVDC sponsored the development of over 600 low income Section 8 apartments in 35 buildings; maintains and manages 167 units in 11 bui... ldings through the Community Management Program, developed 112 units for the low income and homeless as part of the HPD/LISC Housing Demonstration Program and rehabilitated 175 vacant City-owned buildings as part of the Manhattan Valley Cross-Subsidy Plan. As early as 1976, MVDC received an unheard of at the time contract for $225,000 from the Housing and Development Administration to tend to the needs of abandoned buildings in its community. HPD's Community Management Program allowed a community organization to take the lead in rehabilitating existing buildings and allowing tenants and local management to take it over, which was contrary to the habit of selling abandoned buildings to the highest bidder at auctions. Buildings were stabilized because at all levels of the program were people invested in the success of the community - the workers and board members were all residents of the community.Read More