BY EMMA MILLER
Habitat for Humanity New York City joined longtime partner Delta Air Lines to start the first-ever ground-up housing project in Jamaica on Wednesday.
Twenty Delta volunteers started building a four-bedroom, single-family house on Sept. 12. It’s the first time that Habitat NYC has started a small home in the city from scratch.
“While ‘stick builds’ are commonplace for Habitat affiliates around the nation, they are unusual to us in New York City,” said Karen Haycox, CEO of Habitat for Humanity NYC. “While many of our larger multi-family projects are ‘new construction,’ the single-family homes in our inventory are most often revitalized without starting from scratch.”
Haycox expressed gratitude to Delta for their longtime partnership and excitement that they were volunteering for this project.
Chuck Imhof, Delta’s Vice President for New York and East Sales, said that Delta was proud to be a part of this historic build. Many Delta employees volunteer their time with Habitat NYC and “are honored to help their fellow New Yorkers achieve the dream of home ownership,” Imhof said.
Delta Air Lines has partnered with Habitat for Humanity since 1995. In the years since, the airline’s volunteers have helped build over 80 homes in New York City. Around the world, Delta volunteers have built or restored 259 houses in 12 different countries.
Habitat NYC has helped over 700 families in the city by renovating homes and building apartments for the past 34 years. More than 5,400 volunteers help them achieve their goals each year.
Since their founding in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built or restored affordable housing for more than 13.2 million people. They do this work with the help of more than 2 million volunteers each year from across the globe.
