A series of entries designed to capture the ongoing adventures of NINA! See how we came to be where we are today, and follow along as we enter the new century of social media!
Category: NewsWe went by 115 & 117 Sigourney today, and look who we found: Mike Stockman! Mike was back to volunteer at 117, helping to install closet hardware. It was good to see him again.
Kim Kann, Senior Director, Public Relations and Corporate Communications at ConnectiCare, dropped by 115 Sigourney Street today to present NINA with a grant through Connecticut's Neighborhood Assistance Act program. ConnectiCare has supported NINA for last three years, and we were thrilled today to be able to give Kim a look at what ConnectiCare's contribution helps to support.
NAA grants support energy-efficient features at affordable housing projects, in particular at historic rehabilitations, where the cost of installing energy-efficient features can be very expensive. ConnectiCare's generosity helps NINA to keep our homes affordable to buy and affordable to live in, and that helps to revitalize Asylum Hill.
Pictured here are Susan Winkler, Executive Director of the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Cluster and NINA Board Member; Kim Kann; and Ken Johnson, NINA Executive Director.
We are very grateful to ConnectiCare and to Kim for their continued support for our work!
NINA was thrilled to attend today Connecticut Natural Gas's annual Neighborhood Assistance Act Grant Recipient Ceremony at the Energize CT Center in North Haven. CNG has been a big supporter of NINA's work over the last decade, contributing both to our projects and to our operations, and we are very grateful for their generosity.
Connecticut's NAA program is a terrific one -- it allows non-profits like NINA to apply for funding to support energy-efficient features in affordable housing projects while giving the corporation's that contribute through the program a deduction in their state income tax liability. For NINA and CNG, it's a great pairing, as we apply the funds CNG contributes toward the cost of energy-efficient boilers powered by natural gas and double-paned, low-E windows that help to keep heating costs down.
Pictured here is NINA's program manager with Eileen Lopez-Cordone, AVANGRID Community & Economic Development Specialist, and Al Carbone, Manager of Government and Community Relations. CNG is a subsidiary of AVANGRID.
Kyle Bergquist posted a piece on his blog today about 115 Sigourney Street and our work in Asylum Hill. Kyle and his wife Amy are Hartford real estate agents (they not only sell homes in Hartford but live in Hartford, too!), and they have been terrific supporters of NINA's work over the years. For Hartford Heritage Homes, they pitched in by helping us out with a market analysis on the project that we submitted to our funders for this project. This analysis persuaded the funders that our homes would sell, and that in turn led to our ability to get this project underway!
Hartford and NINA are very fortunate to have partners like the Bergquists who are committed to the revitalization of Hartford.
The Partnership for Strong Communities mentioned NINA's work on affordable housing in Asylum Hill in a nice piece on diversifying Hartford's affordable housing stock on its web site today. Not to sound ungrateful, but they did get the address of the Zunner Building wrong! It's at 207 Garden Street, and it does include a three-bedroom along with several one-bedroom apartments, all of which are affordable and in a fantastic location. The addresses that the piece did list, 87 and 89 Atwood Street, are still NINA projects, though. They are the side-by-side, three-story townhomes that we located behind the historic facade of a Perfect Six.
The other address listed, 4-40 Vine Street, is a fantastic set of buildings beautifully restored by our peer CDC, Sheldon Oak Central.
A nice shot of the award, taken in NINA's conference room.
Tonight, the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association held its 20th anniverary gala atop The Hartford's Office Tower. AHNA recognized NINA's contribution to the revitalization of Asylum Hill with a "Neighbor with a Heart" award, and the photo is Ken Johnson receiving that award. That’s Jackie McKinney of AHNA standing to his right.
It's a terrible photo. Really. Your intrepid blogger was desperately ill that evening, and he stuck out the ceremony only long enough to get this photo. He'll work on getting better photos now.
