News from New Destiny, September 2023

New Destiny News. 29 Years of Building Better Futures.

New Destiny Welcomes Nick Lundgren as our First General Counsel

We are thrilled to announce that Nick Lundgren joined New Destiny in September as our General Counsel. With the recent expansion of the organization came a greater need for ongoing legal support and an extensive search to find the right person to join our team.

Nick is already working closely with our executive staff to help scale and reinforce our legal capabilities. He oversees all of New Destiny’s legal matters, providing legal advice and guidance regarding our development projects, programs, and administration to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local law.

Nick comes to New Destiny after having served for the past 4 years as the General Counsel of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), where he led HPD’s Office of Legal Affairs in handling the full breadth of the agency’s legal needs. He brings over 20 years of experience in the government, private, and non-profit sectors, including serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing, Senior Counsel at NYCEDC, and an associate in private practice.  Nick started his legal career at the Legal Aid Society’s Community Law Offices, where he represented non-profits, small businesses, and cooperatives in Upper Manhattan.  Nick is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School and loves the great outdoors almost as much as New York City.

Join us in welcoming Nick to New Destiny!

From Shelter to Permanent Housing: Lily House

Renovation work continues at Lily House, a former domestic violence shelter in the University Heights section of the Bronx. Once the rehabilitation project is completed in about 6 months, Lily House will have 30 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless domestic violence survivors; a large community room for tenant meetings and activities for children; social service offices; and a beautiful backyard. On-site support services will be provided by New Destiny and funded through the NYS Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

The project was redesigned by EQ Architects and is being renovated by Michael Borruto General Contractor, Inc. It’s all made possible thanks to capital funding from the NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Program and Community Preservation Corporation, with pre-development support from DB Share. We thank the state and all our partners for this funding and their ongoing partnership in the effort to break the cycle of abuse and homelessness for some of New York's most vulnerable families, as well as New Destiny’s Housing Development team for all their hard work.

A Visit from Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson

We were honored to host Bronx Borough President, Vanessa Gibson at The Anderson this month. We thank Borough President Gibson for taking the time to speak with us about our upcoming supportive housing project on Webster Avenue in The Bronx and for her ongoing leadership in making our city a safer place for survivors. The upcoming project will consist of a 72-unit apartment complex with 43 units designated for survivors of domestic violence.

Back-to-School

With the start of the back-to-school season, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our incredible funders who made it possible for us to provide backpacks and school supplies to the children in our supportive buildings: The Brooke Jackman, Connect Partners, Inc., and Not 4gotten NY. Their generous support has not only alleviated financial burden, but it has also instilled a sense of excitement and readiness for the upcoming school year!

New Destiny's 2nd Annual Symposium

Join us for our Second Annual Symposium on Monday, October 30th! The symposium will elevate innovative housing interventions to help survivors find and maintain housing stability.

When? Monday, October 30th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where? Engelman Recital Hall – Baruch Performing Arts Center, 1 Bernard Baruch Way – 25th Street (between Lexington & 3rd Aves)

Reserve Your Spot

Summer Staff Celebration

We were thrilled to wrap up summer with our incredible staff! From recognizing and applauding the phenomenal achievements from each department, to competing in a scavenger hunt hosted by Secret City New York throughout Grand Central terminal, we had a blast.

¿Hablas español?

Our Director of Housing Access, Gina Cappuccitti, was featured in a Spanish episode of the Hear Our Voices podcast, cohosted by Family Homelessness Coalition fellow, Lurden Corona. Together, Lurden and Gina discuss how domestic violence affects New York residents. They also discuss the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) Program, a limited number of Section 8 vouchers created by the federal government in 2021. Listen here.