Laura
09-01-2007, 07:41 PM
http://www.timesledger.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18766167&BRD=2676&PAG=461&dept_id=551068&rfi=6
Online database helps disabled home seekers
By Ivan Pereira
08/30/2007
Searching for an affordable home in Queens has never been easy, especially for disabled residents.
There are so few low-income apartments and houses out there that have necessary designs to meet the needs of a disabled person that it's like finding a needle through a haystack, said Michael Fagan, the director of administration for the Center of Independence of the Disabled of NY, which has offices in Manhattan and Flushing.
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"Developers who get money to build affordable housing are listed, but not in a way that's readily available to the public," he said.
Thanks to a new Web site, that search is now less of a hassle. The center relaunched its "Housing Access Ability Registry" last month, giving low-income, disabled home hunters a user-friendly way to find a new home.
The site, whose url is www.nysaccessiblehousing.org, gives users the options to look up homes across the state, on the basis of their income and age requirements, as well as assisted-living facilities availability, senior care availability or other criteria.
"If you're disabled, getting affordable housing can be difficult. The goal is to give the disabled an advantage over that so they can get on the wait list and lotteries," Fagan said.
According to Fagan, many affordable housing units for the disabled get bought up quickly by residents who are just above the low-income group.
Fagan said the information made available on the site is complied by a full-time researcher who looks through listings in newspaper classified ads, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Web site, and the state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal Web site.
The registry, which is funded by DCHR and the city's Department of Housing, according to Fagan, was developed three years ago by Massachusetts-based Web developer New England Index, which had earlier developed a similar system for Massachusetts's public housing system. At first the site did not attract that many visitors since it initially only gave basic information on all affordable housing units for disabled people.
"Before it told you everything in your area and you'd get things you couldn't apply to, because you couldn't meet the criteria," Fagan said "We got a lot of feedback about that and so we decided to make some improvements."
Those improvements eventually paid off since the site has had more than 4,000 hits since it was relaunched last month, Fagan said. Despite the accomplishments, the center would like to make more improvements to the site, including a Spanish translated version.
Fagan also hopes to take the service off cyberspace to reach out to more low- income disabled residents.
"Many of the folks don't have Internet, and I'd love for them to call a 800 number and to give them a report in the mail," he said.
For now, Fagan encourages any interested disabled person to visit the site and learn about the numerous housing units that are available at their fingertips.
"We want to get this site as many hits as possible. That way we can tell developers that if they list their apartment here not only will it be free they're get them sold immediately," he said.
For more information on the site and the center's services log onto www.nysaccessiblehousing.org
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
Online database helps disabled home seekers
By Ivan Pereira
08/30/2007
Searching for an affordable home in Queens has never been easy, especially for disabled residents.
There are so few low-income apartments and houses out there that have necessary designs to meet the needs of a disabled person that it's like finding a needle through a haystack, said Michael Fagan, the director of administration for the Center of Independence of the Disabled of NY, which has offices in Manhattan and Flushing.
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"Developers who get money to build affordable housing are listed, but not in a way that's readily available to the public," he said.
Thanks to a new Web site, that search is now less of a hassle. The center relaunched its "Housing Access Ability Registry" last month, giving low-income, disabled home hunters a user-friendly way to find a new home.
The site, whose url is www.nysaccessiblehousing.org, gives users the options to look up homes across the state, on the basis of their income and age requirements, as well as assisted-living facilities availability, senior care availability or other criteria.
"If you're disabled, getting affordable housing can be difficult. The goal is to give the disabled an advantage over that so they can get on the wait list and lotteries," Fagan said.
According to Fagan, many affordable housing units for the disabled get bought up quickly by residents who are just above the low-income group.
Fagan said the information made available on the site is complied by a full-time researcher who looks through listings in newspaper classified ads, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Web site, and the state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal Web site.
The registry, which is funded by DCHR and the city's Department of Housing, according to Fagan, was developed three years ago by Massachusetts-based Web developer New England Index, which had earlier developed a similar system for Massachusetts's public housing system. At first the site did not attract that many visitors since it initially only gave basic information on all affordable housing units for disabled people.
"Before it told you everything in your area and you'd get things you couldn't apply to, because you couldn't meet the criteria," Fagan said "We got a lot of feedback about that and so we decided to make some improvements."
Those improvements eventually paid off since the site has had more than 4,000 hits since it was relaunched last month, Fagan said. Despite the accomplishments, the center would like to make more improvements to the site, including a Spanish translated version.
Fagan also hopes to take the service off cyberspace to reach out to more low- income disabled residents.
"Many of the folks don't have Internet, and I'd love for them to call a 800 number and to give them a report in the mail," he said.
For now, Fagan encourages any interested disabled person to visit the site and learn about the numerous housing units that are available at their fingertips.
"We want to get this site as many hits as possible. That way we can tell developers that if they list their apartment here not only will it be free they're get them sold immediately," he said.
For more information on the site and the center's services log onto www.nysaccessiblehousing.org
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.