Senate Resolution No. 5138

BY: Senator DILAN

COMMENDING Cypress Hills Local Development
Corporation upon the occasion of celebrating its
35th Anniversary on May 17, 2018

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, Attendant to such concern and fully in accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation upon the occasion of
celebrating its 35th Anniversary at an event on Thursday, May 17, 2018,
at the Dream Hotel Downtown in New York, New York; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 1983 by local residents and merchants, Cypress
Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) strives to build a strong,
sustainable Cypress Hills and East New York, where youth and adults
achieve educational and economic success, secure healthy and affordable
housing and develop leadership skills to transform their lives and
community; and

WHEREAS, Cypress Hills is comprised of a racially and
ethnically-diverse community of 75,000 people; since its inception,
CHLDC has been working to make the neighborhood strong and vibrant by
providing comprehensive services and programs to strengthen the area's
physical and economic infrastructure, provide quality educational and
social services, and foster local leaders; and

WHEREAS, CHLDC diligently works to make Cypress Hills a greener,
healthier, more sustainable place to live; it is leading Cypress Hills
Verde, a long-term plan for a green and healthy neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, Through two initiatives, Communities for Healthy Food and
Two Shades of Green, CHLDC is piloting programs to educate the
neighborhood about healthy eating and exercise and retrofitting
residential housing to make the buildings more sustainable and
environmentally friendly; and

WHEREAS, CHLDC also developed and built Cypress Hills Community
School, Brooklyn's first green school building; and

WHEREAS, CHLDC is dedicated to working with children, teenagers and
families to help young people to succeed in high school, college and the
workforce; its afterschool programs, which serve 1,350 students a year,
has been recognized for excellence through an Afterschool Innovator
Award and has been selected to participate in the highly competitive
city-funded NYC Summer Quest program and TASC's ExpandED program; the
design of the model programs provide students from low-income
communities an academic edge through extra school instruction; and

WHEREAS, In addition, CHLDC has initiated a peer-counseling model
for college access and persistence programs that help over 1,600 young
people a year; this innovative model for Student Success Centers was
developed in the Franklin K. Lane High School campus through work with
College Access: Research and Action (CARA), Youth Development Institute
and the Urban Youth Collaborative; CHLDC is now replicating that model
with its first Middle School Student Success Center at IS 171 to help
younger students navigate the complex high school choice process in New
York City; and

WHEREAS, Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation (CHCCC) provides
high-quality early childhood education to 500 children a year and has
received accreditation from the prestigious National Association for the
Education of Young Children and the National Association for Family
Child Care; and

WHEREAS, CHLDC also helps young adults enter the workforce and stay
employed by collaborating with JobsFirst NYC to pioneer a sectoral
employment program for young adults in logistics and transportation,
providing training in job readiness and working with local businesses to
match them with prospective employees and support their success in the
workforce; and

WHEREAS, This remarkable organization has developed 400 units of
affordable housing in the community, creating homes for both renters and
owners; CHLDC was the recipient of the 2015 Building Brooklyn Award for
its affordable housing complex, Cypress Hills Village; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, CHLDC encourages its residents to become
leaders who are actively engaged in influencing the future of their
community; through advocacy, organizing, and planning, three new school
buildings were constructed; and

WHEREAS, The success of Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
is in direct correlation to the efforts of its Executive Director
Michelle Neugebauer, and her 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 those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation upon the occasion of
celebrating its 35th Anniversary on May 17, 2018; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.