Flushing homeowners who live near Kissena Park and experienced flooding in their homes during the early morning rainfall on Sept. 13 can now apply for assistance through the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) Community Development Fund.
City Council Member Sandra Ung joined AAFE to announce that seven-year loans of up to $20,000 are available at a 2% fixed interest rate through the AAFE Community Development Fund.
Many of the same areas that experienced deadly flooding during Hurricane Ida last year, such as Peck and Rose avenues in Flushing, also experienced extreme flooding during the heavy rain that fell on the morning of Sept. 13.
The councilwoman checked in with families on Peck Avenue, where three people lost their lives in a flooded basement apartment in last year’s storm.
However, Ung’s office also heard from a number of constituents who live on other streets around Kissena Park, whose homes were also damaged by severe flooding.
“The amount of rain that fell last week was nowhere near the intensity of Hurricane Ida, but it still resulted in flooding to an alarming number of homeowners around Kissena Park,” Ung said. “While we need to look at all possible long-term solutions to mitigate the effects of these increasingly common severe weather events associated with climate change, I want to thank Executive Director Thomas Yu and the AAFE Community Development Fund for making these loans available to help impacted homeowners recover in the short term.”
According to Yu, AAFE wants homeowners in Queens to know that they’re not alone as they cope with the impacts of last week’s flash floods.
“This is why AAFE Community Development Fund is responding with an emergency loan program to ensure that residents have quick access to the funds they require to make repairs,” Yu said.
To qualify for the loans, the home must be by the primary residence of the owner; the damages must have occurred during the flash flooding that occurred on the morning of Sept. 13; and a licensed contractor must complete any repairs. Homeowners who live in an area generally bounded by 46th Avenue to the north, Utopia Parkway to the east, Long Island Expressway to the south, 148th Street, Colden Avenue and 45th Street to the west, are eligible to apply.
For more than 20 years, AAFE Community Development Fund, an affiliate of Asian Americans for Equality, has worked to provide capital and multilingual financial education to immigrant and low-income New Yorkers seeking to become first-time homeowners. AAFE CDF has a long history of responding swiftly in times of crisis, delivering aid to communities in distress. AAFE CDF is a U.S. Treasury designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
The deadline for applications is Dec. 31. For more information or to begin the application process, call (718) 961-0888 or email info@aafecdf.org.
