Community Development, Childcare and Housing

River Street has served communities and nonprofit organizations of all types – from homeless shelters and soup kitchens, to small business groups, to major educational institutions. Our work in community development, childcare and affordable housing focuses on adaptation and resilience. While “bouncing back” resiliently is important – building organizations that proactively and continually adapt and reflect their own experience are most likely to survive and thrive. This approach requires us to help clients give up long-held assumptions and trust experimentation to decide what actually works. The days of “making a plan and sticking to it” are over, replaced with setting a direction, measuring it and making changes.

Challenges like COVID-19 demand real-time thinking with laser focus on very short term goals that are monitored and adjusted by meeting frequently – typically online – perhaps daily. Understanding roadblocks without defensiveness is critical as is tracking and recording progress no matter how small. To do this effectively a group needs good data – whether generated by a reliable external source or your own expertise. After the crisis ends adaptation takes over again as a new strategy is developed.

At the neighborhood level our approach builds neighborhood and community capacity to assess needs and develop integrated strategies that improve the quality, choice, accessibility, and affordability of childcare, housing, community facilities, workforce development and recreation.

Our wide-reaching work in community development is described in many experience areas and includes:

• City of Troy – ReCode Troy Land Management Tools and Zoning; NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative Planning, Monument Square Consensus Building; Hoosick/Hillside Neighborhood Strategy; City-wide Housing Assessment, Climate Adaptation Assessment and Strategy
• City of Schenectady – Stockade Resilience personal outreach and engagement to build agreement around a creative flood mitigation approach based on climate adaptive preservation
• Hunter Foundation – Community planning, trail system development, value added agriculture initiative, festival ground planning, village wide trails network, Gooseberry Creek plan and park, among others.
• Schenectady, NY Local Development Corporation Strategic Plan
• Hamilton, NY Partnership for Community Development Strategic Plan

To advance safe and affordable childcare our recent work includes:

• Fulton County, NY Community Action Agency Community Needs Assessment
• Montgomery County, NY Community Action Agency Five Year Agency-Wide Needs Assessment
• Newburgh, NY Economic Opportunity Agency Community Action Agency /Newburgh Housing Authority Childcare Needs Assessment
• Troy, NY Equal Opportunity Commission Early Head Start Feasibility Analysis and Implementation Strategy
• Fulton County, NY Community Action Agency Head Start Needs Assessment
• Montgomery County, NY Head Start Surveys, Partner Engagement, Needs Assessment and Strategy
• Hunter Foundation, Mrs. Puddleducks Childcare Center Expansion Feasibility Analysis – CARES Act funded New York Forward Child Care Expansion Incentive and Foundation Strategic Plan Education and Childcare Analysis
• Montgomery County, NY COVID-19 Needs Assessment
• Fulton County, NY 2020 COVID-19 Community Needs Assessment (Full Assessment)

We prepare housing market studies for a variety of developers, public housing authorities, and non-profit organizations. We craft funding applications for State and Federal loan, grant and tax credit syndication projects. We have designed model housing rehabilitation and homebuyer incentive programs that have been replicated in communities across New York State.

ALONG WITH DOZENS OF HOUSING MARKET STUDIES, A PARTIAL LIST OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORK INCLUDES:

• Patterns for Progress Adirondack Gateway HUD Community Sustainability Program
• BEACON Communities City of Troy Phelan Apartments Redevelopment
• Housing Authority Martin Luther King Housing Improvement Program (Constructed)
• Town of Prattsville, NY Town Common Senior Housing and Community Center Feasibility and Market Profile (Constructed)
• Town of Jay and Town of Keene, NY Affordable Housing Market Profile
• Village of Sidney, NY Civic Center Senior Housing Analysis (Constructed)
• West Central Adirondacks Housing Needs Assessment 
• City of Schenectady, NY State Street Transit Gateway Project Housing and Commercial Development Market Profile (Constructed)
• City of Corning, NY Neighborhood Development Strategy 
• Greene County, NY Housing Action Plan  (Implemented/Constructed)
• First Ward Action Council Housing Market Analysis (Constructed)
• Housing Assistance Program of Essex County, NY Market Analysis
• Troy Rehabilitation and Improvement Program Demographic, Housing and Socio-Economic Profile City of Troy, NY
• City of Troy, NY Housing Authority Housing Stock Analysis and Needs Assessment
• Rensselaer County Community Housing Resource Board Housing Analysis