Honor Brooklyn Housing Anniversary

Senate Resolution No. 1208 BY: Senator MONTGOMERY COMMENDING Brooklyn Community Housing and Services upon the occasion of hosting its 40th Anniversary Gala "Feels Like Home" on May 15, 2019 WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize that the quality and character of life in the communities across New York State are reflective of the concerned and dedicated efforts of those organizations and individuals who would devote themselves to the welfare of the community and its citizenry; and WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Brooklyn Community Housing and Services upon the occasion of hosting its 40th Anniversary "Feels Like Home" Gala to be celebrated on Wednesday, May

15, 2019, at BKLYN Studios in Brooklyn, New York; and WHEREAS, Founded in 1978, as Pastoral and Educational Services (PAES) by a group of clergy and concerned citizens from the Downtown Brooklyn community who were concerned about the number of people with mental illness who were sleeping on the street and seeking help from local churches; they later changed their name to Brooklyn Community Housing and Services (BCHS); and WHEREAS, Brooklyn Community Housing and Services (BCHS) is committed to ending homelessness in Brooklyn and empowering all the residents of its home community of Fort Greene and the surrounding neighborhoods through innovative and comprehensive social, educational and job-training programs that enable residents to achieve maximum independence; and WHEREAS, Every year, BCHS provides clean and safe supportive housing and services to more than 1,000 formerly homeless families and single adults and helps them to learn how to live independently; and WHEREAS, BCHS' programs provide short-term, transitional and permanent housing, homelessness prevention, personalized case management, mental health care, on-site nursing, vocational training, substance abuse counselling, recreational activities and other vital services; and WHEREAS, In 1980, BCHS began one of the first Scattered-Site Apartment Programs for homeless mentally ill adults in the country, and then embarked upon an ambitious construction project, called Brooklyn Gardens (BG), which opened in 1991; located in Fort Greene, BG is a

180-bed complex serving formerly homeless families, adults with severe psychiatric disorders, and adults with a chronic mental illness; and WHEREAS, Most recently, BCHS was part of a team that opened Navy Green, a 97-bed award-winning supportive housing building on the site of the former Navy jail, and has created innovative programming for low-income households facing eviction, military veterans, formerly homeless seniors, and individuals with histories of incarceration who are returning to the community; and WHEREAS, The success of BCHS is in direct correlation to the efforts of its Executive Director Jeff Nemetsky, Board of Directors, and staff, whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by an impressive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising standard of excellence in all endeavors on behalf of the institution and the community it serves; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when organizations of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commend Brooklyn Community Housing and Services upon the occasion of hosting its 40th Anniversary Gala "Feels Like Home" on May 15, 2019; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Jeff Nemetsky, Executive Director, Brooklyn Community Housing and Services.