News

Recently, Common Ground collaborated with COOKFOX Architects to put on a panel discussion on sustainable and local design moderated by design writer Kimberlie Birks. Our panelists included Rick Cook, partner at COOKFOX, Andrew Kotchen, Principal at workshop/apd, Steven Tupu, Principal at Terrain, and Elissa Winzelberg, Director of Design and Construction at Common Ground. We enjoyed a lively discussion that ran the gamut from what makes good design to to funding mechanisms to how formerly homeless tenants embrace "green" living. Read more.

Late at night on January 28th, our Executive Director Brenda Rosen addressed a crowd of 100 volunteers and employees assembled in the lobby of the Times Square, “where it all began” twenty-three years ago. Not only was the Times Square Common Ground’s first supportive housing residence, she explained, but it was in the basement of this building that the Street-to-Home outreach program was started in 1993.

Staff and volunteers were assembled to receive training before they headed out for the annual HOPE (Homeless Outreach Population Estimate) census. Each year, New York City’s Department of Homeless Services enlists thousands of volunteers to canvass parks, subways, and other public spaces to count the number of people living unsheltered in the city. Again this year, Common Ground partnered with the city to conduct the count in midtown Manhattan. Read more.

Thanks to all our volunteers who have signed up for the 2013 HOPE Count on January 28th. (If you haven’t yet, we’re still looking for a few more volunteers, so please hurry and register using the online form!) If this is your first HOPE Count, you may be wondering what to expect. Read more.

We are pleased to offer two Request For Proposal (RFP) opportunities for building upgrades to our Lee residence: an upgrade to our security camera system and an upgrade to the roof fence and rear courtyard rail. Read more.

Registration for the 2013 HOPE Count is now open!

Each January, we partner with the New York City Department of Homeless Services in their annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE), a unique overnight event during which volunteers fan out across the city and conduct a census of New Yorkers sleeping outside. The information gathered that night is invaluable, as it helps us adjust our efforts to make the greatest possible impact on helping the chronically homeless to realize better lives. Read more.

This article appeared in New York Magazine on November 22, 2012 with the headline: Post-Sandy, New York’s homeless problem is even more daunting. One building in Brooklyn shows how it might be solved. By Justin Davidson

A few weeks ago, I watched a man who had spent much of his life living in doorways and cardboard boxes shamble into the sun-washed lobby of a new building on Hegeman Avenue in Brownsville, dig an I.D. card out of baggy jeans, swipe through the turnstile, and take the elevator up to a modest but clean room equipped with a bed, an ample window, a closet, and a kitchenette. He was home. Read more.

On October 24, Common Ground supporters gathered together to celebrate another successful year and raise over $930,000 for its housing and outreach programs. Read more.

A message from Executive Director Brenda E. Rosen:

Dear friends:

While the immediate threat from Hurricane Sandy has passed, the memory and impact of the storm will remain with us for a very long time. As New York begins to return to normal, I hope you and your loved ones are well. Our hearts go out to those who suffered personal loss and injury, and pray that friends and family were able to support you in a time of need. Read more.

We asked our employees, tenants, and partners to help us tell the story of Common Ground’s mission and impact in their own words. The result is our 2012 Celebrating Home and Community video.

Read more.

This article appeared in October 9, 2012, on page A24 of the New York edition with the headline: Still Housing the Needy, In a Changed Manhattan. By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS In a wide-open ballroom in Manhattan last week, a room with gilded columns and dark herringbone floors, men and women in dark suits sat at a reception for a retiring city official, listening to speeches as they munched on tidy portions of chicken and salad greens.

They sat in an elegant early-20th-century building near Madison Square Park, where some of New York’s most expensive real estate and finest restaurants can be found. But the residents living above that fine golden ballroom did not shell out a few million dollars for their homes; far from it. The tenants of this building, called the Prince George, include formerly homeless New Yorkers, people with persistent mental illness and the very poor.

“‘The Real Housewives of New York’ shot here once,” said Brenda E. Rosen, the executive director of Common Ground, which owns the Prince George and rents out the ballroom to help support the organization. “I watched them yell at each other in the ballroom on TV!” Read more.

Each year, The Doe Fund identifies an Employer Partner who has demonstrated a high level of commitment to breaking the cycles of poverty by providing not just jobs, but careers with opportunities for advancement. Common Ground not only provides job opportunities to deserving individuals but is also a partner in the broader fight to prevent and solve homelessness. This dedication and unyielding pursuit makes Common Ground the definitive choice for this year's selection.

For more information about The Doe Fund, visit their website at www.doefund.org.

Common Ground and its partners celebrated the opening of The Hegeman and its 161 units of LEED-certified permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless and low-income adults. Read more.

As we look forward to the 2012 gala coming up in October, we are reflecting back on the beautiful and memorable evening that was last year's gala. In November 2011, friends of Common Ground came together for our annual celebration, to raise funds, and to honor outgoing board chair Peter Ezersky. The evening was capped off with a performance by original Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday. Read more.

We are excited to announce that Common Ground's 10th Annual Celebrating Home and Community Gala will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 in New York City at the exquisite Guastavino's, in midtown Manhattan. Common Ground will honor Michael C. Slocum, Commercial Banking & Northeast Regional President at Capital One, for his leadership and commitment to Common Ground’s mission.

Please click here for more information.

On April 30, 2012, National Grid presented Common Ground Community (CG) with a Green Cinderella Grant to help pay for environmentally sustainable equipment and features at our newest permanent supportive residence at 39 Hegeman Avenue in Brooklyn, as part of our mission to end homelessness in New York. Read more.

Common Ground was recently recognized for “Excellence in Organizational Vision & Management” and named a Best Company to Work For in New York State. Sponsored by the New York State Society of Human Resources Management, this award is based on surveys of current Common Ground staff and an assessment of our organizational practices and benefits packages. Common Ground was among 24 large companies named “Best Employer” in 2012. Read more.

Common Ground’s annual gala provides crucial support for the housing development, property management and program initiatives described in this website. Last year’s event raised nearly $1.3 million in private funding to advance our mission to end homelessness in New York. Planning is underway now for our 2012 fall gala. For event details and information about sponsorship opportunities, check back soon.

Last year’s event raised nearly $1.3 million in private funding to advance our mission to end homelessness in New York. This short video describes how Common Ground's unique supportive housing model helps thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers achieve the stability they need to maintain their housing, restore their health, and regain economic independence.

Every year, the Supportive Housing Network of New York honors two outstanding supportive housing residences at its Awards Gala. Likening it to "a high-concept, raucous and difficult-to- perform off-Broadway show that you want to see again and again," SHNNY named The Schermerhorn a 2011 Residence of the Year. Read more.

On October 25, 2011, local officials and community partners joined Common Ground to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Downtown Brooklyn’s Schermerhorn, 216 units of affordable, supportive residence for single adults in the arts as well as the formerly homeless. The project was sponsored by Common Ground and the Actor’s Fund. Read more.