Blueprint 15 Awarded $1 Million To Prevent Community Displacement In Partnership With City Of Syracuse

Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise), in partnership with the New York State Attorney General, announced this week that it will begin implementing customized strategies to address community displacement in the City of Syracuse and nine other municipalities and counties participating in the New York State Anti-Displacement Learning Network. Blueprint 15, Inc. and the City of Syracuse, in partnership with state officials, leaders, and other nonprofit partners have worked collaboratively to identify particular triggers of displacement in the East Adams Neighborhood and targeted approaches to address them.

Blueprint 15 will work with residents and several local partners to implement three high-impact strategies, supported by $1 million committed by Enterprise, to advance housing and neighborhood stability, promote resident engagement, and prevent displacement in the East Adams Neighborhood. This will be accomplished through eviction prevention legal services, credible messenger communications and power building, and building the capacity for the development of high-quality affordable housing in the target area.

“Syracuse is grateful to the Attorney General and Enterprise Community Partners for their recognition of our commitment to stabilizing families and ensuring healthy, affordable, and safe housing,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “The City will continue partnering with Blueprint 15 and residents within the East Adams Neighborhood to ensure equity and inclusion in any and all redevelopment in the footprint.”

Blueprint 15’s Vice Chair, Calvin Corriders, stated, “This award will advance the work of Blueprint 15 to the next level, empowering residents to amplify their voice in the planning and programming they want to see for their neighborhood, and to play real and meaningful roles in its resurgence.”

“As the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout continue to devastate New York communities, it’s especially crucial that we work together to keep residents safely housed and prevent community displacement,” said Judi Kende, vice president and New York market leader, Enterprise Community Partners. “We are proud to have collaborated with local leaders and the Office of the Attorney General to create strategies that will stabilize communities and protect residents and their homes. We look forward now to implementing these life-changing plans in each community.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left us on the verge of an acute housing crisis in New York,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “From Buffalo to Brooklyn, the New York State Anti-Displacement Learning Network is essential in identifying and addressing issues that promote housing displacement among communities, such as predatory landlords, housing discrimination, and the lack of low-income housing. I am committed to continuing the great work with Enterprise Community Partners to help curb community displacement throughout the state.”

Resident displacement is a major cause of community destabilization across New York. Displacement disproportionately harms low-income communities and people of color, furthering racial inequity and causing increased and entrenched poverty, economic immobility, and weakened cultural ties and support networks.

About Blueprint 15, Inc.

The mission of Blueprint 15 is to work with community residents, local leaders and other partners to revitalize the East Adams Street neighborhood and create the conditions necessary so that every person has a genuine opportunity to achieve their highest potential. The vision is a diverse and highly amenitized neighborhood that is safe, vibrant and includes durable pathways out of poverty.