The Cooper Square Committee (CSC) works with area residents to contribute to the preservation and development of affordable, environmentally healthy housing and community/cultural spaces so that the Cooper Square area remains racially, economically, and culturally diverse.
As 2012 comes to a close, our community is still hurting in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The Cooper Square Committee’s office did not suffer any damage from the storm but we were without power for a week, and saw our work load quickly become backlogged upon returning. Those needing assistance included people impacted by the storm, as well as the many low income tenants who seek our help in the normal course of events. During the past couple of weeks, we have been working with our project partner, the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association (MHA), and with other agencies including FEMA, to assist people displaced by the storm. We’ve been contacted by more than 20 people who have been displaced from their homes by the storm, and we are interviewing many of them with the aim of placing at least 8 of them in temporary housing owned by the MHA as soon as possible.
We wish you and yours a rewarding and happy holiday!
We are closed Thurs 11/22 and Fri 11/23. We reopen at 10am on Mon 11/26.
Fri 11/16:
If you lost food due to the power outage, do you receive Food Stamps?
No:
There is no money available for you. Con Ed will not reimburse you for a “Residential Claim for Food and Medicine Spoilage” Form as that form states,”Claims for reimbursement for losses sustained as of result of power outages caused by storms or other conditions beyond our control will not be paid.” Our local politicians and Con Ed have verified this. Other forms of assistance may be available from FEMA (such as for lost wages or house damage), see if you qualify here.
Yes:
Your account will be credited for 50% more this month. and you may be able to have your lost food reimbursed. For more details, “New Yorkers Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Affected by Hurricane Sandy” section on HRA’s website.
for their work in ending 45 years of inactivity at Seward Park
In the summer of 2010, I was facing some financial difficulty and had fallen behind on rent payments for my rent stabilized apartment on Ave B. Fearing that I would be evicted from my apartment, I was recommended by a friend to get in touch with Brandon Kielbasa at The Cooper Square Committee. Brandon had previously helped her with some issues that she was having in her Lower East Side apartment, and she informed me that the Committee was a great recourse for East Village residents.
The Cooper Square Committee and the Ali Forney Center have been awarded $3 million by the City Council and an additional $300,000 by Borough President, Scott Stringer to develop housing for up to 18 homeless LGBT youth at 222 East 13th Street, which will be formally named the Bea Arthur Residence. Bea Arthur was an advocate and supporter of the Ali Forney Center and its mission. Community Board 3 unanimously recommended that the site be transferred to the Ali Forney Center and the Cooper Square Committee for this use.
If you are a property owner or board member of a low income cooperative, contact Steve or Angee to find out what types of free and low cost greening programs your building may be eligible for.
In October, 2011, the Cooper Square Committee launched an HDFC Greening Project. We began by