NYC Gazette

Brooklyn, NY – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) requested $3,000,000 in the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget to update the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) Center for Community Development. The funding would be used to upgrade the facilities, including ensuring that people with disabilities are able to access the building and services offered, ranging from workforce development to housing counseling and community development. The FAC primarily serves residents who are unable to receive support elsewhere due to limited English proficiency, low educational attainment, and barriers to employment, such as a history with the criminal justice system. These upgrades will allow the Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc. to expand their free and low-cost community services.

“I’m proud to support the Fifth Avenue Committee and their affiliates as they modernize the Community Development Center in Gowanus,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The work that they do to serve members of our community that are too-often left behind is vital to ensuring that we are uplifting all New Yorkers. The Community Development Center is instrumental to helping members of the community thrive and succeed, and these funds will ensure that those efforts will continue to have a positive impact.”

Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) said, "FAC is thrilled and deeply grateful to have Congressman Dan Goldman's support for our project. The FAC Center is a community hub that thousands of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers rely on each year for a range of services and supports. Renovations will help to expand program capacity, maintain the building in good repair and improve energy efficiency for this critical piece of community infrastructure.  These investments will ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our community for years to come.”

The FAC Center for Community Development currently provides services to thousands of community residents each year through the Fifth Avenue Committee and their affiliates. Services range from workforce development to housing counseling and community development.

One critical program that the Fifth Avenue Committee provides is the Adult Education Program, which offers classes in English for Speakers of other Languages, high school equivalency, adult basic education, job training, and digital literacy to more than 400 foreign born and native New Yorkers annually. The renovations would allow FAC to relocate these classes to the FAC Center, which is more accessible by public transit.

Their community service mission is at the core of the FAC Center’s upgrades. On the second floor, the space will be outfitted with a brand-new computer room and two large classrooms for teaching. These new spaces will allow for the community center to expand their adult education services.

The elevator modernization will also ensure that the entire building is accessible to all community members.

The FAC is committed to helping community members obtain and retain jobs –unemployment remains a challenge in the community, and income is low, with more than 28 percent of residents living below the poverty line. Nearly half of residents (48 percent) are limited English proficient, compared to 23 percent citywide. Half are either rent burdened or severely rent burdened, paying over 30 percent and sometimes more than 50 percent of their income on housing.

Original source can be found here.