Local elected officials presented a $650,000 check to the Greater Allen Development Corporation (GADC) on Friday to support affordable housing at Allen Cathedral Apartments in Jamaica.
Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-28), along with Council Members Selvena Brooks Powers (D-31) and Nantasha Williams (D-28), awarded the joint capital funding during a ceremony at 169-28 110th Road, where community leaders gathered to mark the investment in the neighborhood’s housing resources.
GADC is a community development corporation that fosters responsible and community-focused economic growth. It has been a key player in South Jamaica, and it was established to address local housing and development needs.
The funding will replace an elevator in the Affordable Housing Development Complex, which stakeholders say is a long-awaited renovation. The complex has not received significant capital improvements since its construction over fifteen years ago. Over time, elevators in the building have gone offline, resulting in residents having to travel across the facility’s campus to access functioning elevators. The funding will also go towards renovating the facility’s roof.
“Being a grassroots organization in the affordable housing industry, one thing we find ourselves running into is sometimes years into the project the funding gets a little bit tight… we find ourselves with things sometimes that the budget can’t cover,” said Harold Hasan Flake, president of the Greater Allen Development Corporation. Flake added that the relationships created with the local elected officials are important, as they fill the gaps and provide funding for the much-needed renovations.
The trio of elected officials gave remarks supporting the legacy of the Greater Allan A.M.E. Cathedral Church’s retired head pastor, former U.S. Rep. Rev. Dr.Floyd Flake, and his commitment to the Southeastern Queens Community. “We stand on the shoulders of Rev. Floyd Flake here in Southeast Queens. To now be part of the leadership that is actually able to continue… his dream means everything to me personally. Especially those of us who were raised by the church across the street… this is very personal for us.” Adams said.
Council Member Brooks Powers echoed Speaker Adams’s views, saying, “We have a responsibility to create… education, housing, and just be a place that has immense pride and joy.”
“One thing that’s special about South East Queens is that I often call us the community without walls. Because we have these big institutions in Southeast Queens that really support all of us, regardless of where we may physically be… it’s so important to make sure that those institutions have the resources they need,” Brooks-Powers said.
In closing remarks, Council Member Williams said that the funding has presented an opportunity to give money directly to the local community, “I’m just excited to be in the position to partner with the Speaker and our Majority Whip[Brooks Powers] to continue to support Allen,” she said.
During Rev. Flake’s 41-year pastorate, Allen A.M.E. Church became one of the nation’s top Christian churches. The church owns an array of commercial and residential developments, including a 600-student private school founded by Flake and his wife Elaine and other social service missions, including the Greater Allen Development Corporation, Allen A.M.E. Commuity Senior Citizens Center, and Allen A.M.E. Senior Citizens Housing.
