Wells Fargo donated $100 grocery gift cards on Jan. 12 for the senior residents of 2850 Webster Ave., in partnership with Douglaston Development and the New York Botanical Garden to build affordable housing for low-income seniors.
Completed in 2023, 2850 Webster Ave. is the first of a two-phase affordable housing project and its second phase, 2868 Webster Ave., is currently under construction. Its anticipated completion is September 2027.
Peter Cannava, the head of multifamily capital and community lending and investment at Wells Fargo, said the company joined the project a few years after Douglaston, helping finance the construction loan and investing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is an important resource for creating affordable housing in the United States.
Cannava said that Wells Fargo has a long-standing relationship with Douglaston Development and have worked with them on previous projects throughout the five boroughs.
“We’re a big player in affordable housing throughout the country,” he said. “We have financed probably in the borough of the Bronx about $1.6 billion over the last five years of debt and equity, which is over 3300 units of affordable housing.”
Congressman Ritchie Torres has supported the project from its conception, adding that it’s a success story of a public-private partnership.
“Affordable housing is the best investment that we can make in the American dream,” Torres said. “Housing is not only about brick and mortar, it’s the foundation on which all of us build a better life for ourselves and for our family.”
Torres said that banks play a central role in creating affordable housing
“The solution to the affordability crisis lies in building more housing. We thank you [Wells Fargo] for that $1.6 billion investment in affordable housing in the Bronx, because if we can make affordable housing work in the Bronx, we can make it work anywhere in America,” he said.
Terrence Matthews, a resident, said receiving these gift cards are important for seniors.
“It will help everybody during these times. I mean, I get my SNAP but [groceries] are expensive. You get half the groceries for what you spend,” Matthews said.
Marlowe B. West, another senior resident, said the $100 gift cards will be helpful towards paying for his groceries.
“Times are really rough and I’m fortunate enough to have Section 8. I have a band and I have to pay all the guys and they each get $100, and so I haven’t been able to save that much money to have a show for a while,” West said.
“And I get by nice, I’m not complaining but a gift card would be really great because you get extra… more than what you’re used to.”
Reach Keke Grant-Floyd at keiwana.grantfloyd19@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
