Increasing wealth building for Black women in Brooklyn through nearly $2 million affordable housing investment

Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn CDC, Inc. (NHS Brooklyn) recently announced a $1.9 million investment by JPMorgan Chase in its Small Property Preservation Initiative at the nonprofit’s first Women in Real Estate and Property Management Conference which took place at Medgar Evers College.

JPMorgan Chase’s investment will help NHS Brooklyn increase  participation of Black female property owners in educational events like today’s conference and in the housing nonprofit’s Affordable Property Management Program. In learning how to manage their properties more effectively and treat them like a business, owners will build intergenerational wealth and help preserve affordable housing in the borough.

The Affordable Property Management Program provides resources, technical training, and counseling to owners of one- to four-unit buildings to ensure they develop successful property management skills and retain ownership of their properties. Program participants learn best practices for collecting rent from tenants, reducing operating expenses, and securing estimates from licensed, insured contractors, which lower owners’ maintenance costs, stabilize their finances, and build their equity.

“JPMorgan Chase’s investment in our Affordable Property Management Program will help small property owners across Central and Southern Brooklyn to maintain their property, increase its value, and keep it as a family asset and source of wealth for years to come,” said Tonya Ores, executive director of NHS Brooklyn.

According to a study in 2019 by the Furman Center, Black households across New York City have the lowest homeownership rate at 26.6 percent, second only to Hispanic households (15.9 percent), lagging behind Asians and Whites at 42.2 percent and 41.2 percent, respectively. A March 2023 report by the National Association of Realtors indicates that Black homeowners spend more of their income to own their homes than all racial groups, with 30 percent being cost-burdened, which is defined as spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

NHS Brooklyn is receiving the $1.9 million as part of JPMorgan Chase’s Annual Challenge competition, which began in 2018 and sources innovative and sustainable ideas to advance equity in the United States. This year’s competition called for projects focused on supporting women of color, and the Flatbush-based organization is one of just eight winners selected nationwide from more than 200 applications received.

“In light of persistent barriers to affordable homeownership in Brooklyn, we are thrilled to partner with NHS Brooklyn in furthering their critical work to support small-scale property owners,” said Jeanique Druses, Executive Director, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase. “By providing Black female property owners with the resources and skills they need to manage their properties, NHS Brooklyn enables today’s Brooklyn families to stay in Brooklyn for future generations.”

The inaugural conference hosted by NHS Brooklyn is focusing on Black female homeowners and wealth building with panels and sessions covering a range of topics, including the critical role of women in property management, working with contractors, new laws and regulations affecting New York City property owners, tips and practices for new small landlords, and opportunities and challenges for Black women in property management.New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who is chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and serves on Mayor Eric Adams’ MWBE Task Force gave the conference keynote, “The State of Black Homeownership.”

JPMorgan Chase has supported NHS of Brooklyn for more than 20 years with their homeownership and financial education programs, including assisting low-to-moderate-income families in buying their first homes, providing clients with individual pre-purchase homeownership counseling services, connecting distressed homeowners to permanent mortgage modifications that reduce their monthly housing costs and scaling up educational seminars and workshops that impact 2,000 NHS clients monthly.

About Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn

NHS Brooklyn is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization established in 1982 that creates and preserves affordable housing by providing opportunities for homeownership education, financial assistance, and community leadership. Led by local residents and guided by local needs, NHS Brooklyn works in partnership with government and business to revitalize underserved neighborhoods.