NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson, elected officials, local non-profits and advocates announce that historic buildings, previously listed for sale, will now remain in the community
Hell’s Kitchen, NY – One of New York’s most historic settlement houses, which had been in danger of closing, will be reborn as a modern community center with supportive housing after NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson, elected officials, Clinton Housing Development Company, Hudson Guild, Community Board 4 and other stakeholders worked together to devise a turnaround plan for the organization.
Hartley House – which has been serving New Yorkers with everything from after school programs to immigration services since 1897 – announced today a partnership with Clinton Housing Development Corporation and Hudson Guild that will save its historic buildings on West 46th Street in Hell’s Kitchen and create a modern community center with dynamic new programs. A $222,000 City Council discretionary allocation by Speaker Johnson will help Hartley House continue its programming uninterrupted.
Founded in the era of the Settlement House movement, Hartley House has been an integral part of the Hell’s Kitchen community since 1897. But recently the organization has been challenged by a rapidly changing community, working to assist those pushed aside by gentrification, while also struggling to maintain its 121 year old physical location. Earlier this year, Hartley House reluctantly listed its multi-building campus at 413 West 46th Street for sale and moved its offices and programs to rented space.
The Hell’s Kitchen community rallied to save Hartley House, and Community Board 4 held a public hearing on the matter. Speaker Johnson brought together Hartley House and other stakeholders at City Hall to develop an alternative plan.
Now, after months of discussion and collaboration, Hartley House has taken its buildings off the market and will remain in its historic location. It will now work with Clinton Housing and Hudson Guild to renovate and reprogram its historic home.
Under this plan, Hartley House’s large footprint on 46th Street will be renovated to include supportive housing for LGBT seniors developed by Clinton Housing and community services and programming supported by Hudson Guild. Additional program space will be provided in Clinton Housing’s Captain Post affordable housing development on West 52nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.
This new partnership allows Hartley House to hold on to its property, significantly boost its service capabilities, and redevelop its buildings into a modern complex. The new center will host after-school and summer camps and will allow Hartley House to build on its HOPE program, which serves the community’s older residents by bringing vital health and life management care to them at home.
“This victory shows what is possible when government and communities come together to find solutions to tough problems” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “Hartley House helped build and protect the Hell’s Kitchen community for more than a century, and this project will ensure they will be here for at least another 100 years. I am thrilled that we were able to help facilitate this new partnership between Hartley House, Clinton Housing and Hudson Guild to create a center for the future of New York, grounded in its history.”
“Hartley House has been a bedrock of support, empowerment, and community development in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for over 120 years,” said Senator Brad Hoylman. “Their work has transformed the lives of so many New Yorkers and represents the best of what our city has to offer. Thanks to the work of Speaker Johnson, The Clinton Housing Development Company, Hudson Guild, and my colleagues in government, this legacy will continue on for generations to come.”
“Hartley House is a testament to the strength and resilience of the Hell’s Kitchen Community,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “Our community is proud to have leaders like Speaker Corey Johnson, Clinton Housing Development Corporation and Community Board 4 who came together to help stabilize and save this storied institution.”
“Hartley House has been a bedrock institution of the Hell’s Kitchen community, since decades before any of us came to know it,” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried. “It has helped countless neighbors, young and old, long-timers and newcomers, get a better start and live a better life. It is wonderful that Council Speaker Johnson has been able to work with everyone to help secure its future.”
“For more than 120 years, Hartley House has stood as a beacon and a resource for the Hell’s Kitchen community—and this exciting new partnership allows us to continue that mission for years to come,” said Hartley House President, Alice Truax. “We thank Council Speaker Johnson and our elected officials for making this project possible, and enabling Hartley House to create a modern space and dynamic programs for those New Yorkers who need our help the most.”
“This new partnership is an amazing turn of events,” said Joe Restuccia, Executive Director of Clinton Housing. “Clinton Housing is proud not only to work with Hartley House and the Hudson Guild to help ensure the future of our neighborhood’s historic settlement house, but also bring its experience in historic renovation to preserve these buildings which are so dearly a part of generations of Hell’s Kitchen residents lives.”
“Hudson Guild is thrilled that the historic buildings Hartley House has called home for more than a century will remain part of the Hell’s Kitchen social service fabric, and that those spaces will continue to be available to everyone in the community,” said Ken Jockers, Executive Director of Hudson Guild. “Many thanks to Speaker Corey Johnson for his leadership in making this happen. Hudson Guild is committed to supporting its sibling settlement house in providing valuable services and building programming for the whole community.”
“After Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) learned that Hartley House was closing its doors we held a public hearing,” said Manhattan Community Board 4 Chair Burt Lazarin. “The community response from both committee members and the public was vocal and passionate. MCB4 committed itself to working with Hartley House and Speaker Johnson’s Office to find a way for this important community resource to remain in the neighborhood. MCB4 was confident that by working together we could arrive at a solution to ensure the survival of Hartley House as an organization and the West 46th Street buildings as a community asset. We are happy to see that Hartley House will not only stay but evolve into a 21 century supportive housing and service provider.”
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