Public Employee Press

Municipal Employees Housing Program
Moving day

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

As soon as Natalie Reyes gave birth to twin girls, she knew she wanted to give them a home with a big back yard where they could run and play.

A Job Opportunity Specialist for eight years and a Local 371 member, her dream house was deferred while she lived in a flat in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

“I kept saving for a down payment, because owning my own home was always in the back of my mind,” said Reyes. But city housing costs rose faster than her savings account ever could.
“Any mother would want to provide a bigger place for her family. I just wanted to complete the American dream — to own a house.”

In January, as a moving van carried her family possessions across the Verrazano Bridge to the three-bedroom house in Stapleton, Staten Island, that Reyes purchased with help from DC 37, her dream came true.

How MEHP works

Working with counselors from DC 37’s Municipal Employees Housing Program, Reyes qualified for a FirstHome grant that gave her $18,000 toward the purchase of her home. Coupled with her savings, it put home ownership within reach.

“When I heard about the housing program, I said, ‘Wow. I have to go to this seminar,’ ” said Reyes. Shortly after she met with counselors Noemi Vega and Tracey Lewis, Reyes began her house hunt.

DC 37’s innovative housing program provides members with grants and assistance to purchase condominiums, co-op apartments and private houses, and preference in obtaining rental units throughout the city. MEHP offers DC 37 members a chance at affordable housing and homeownership though its one-stop service with counseling, credit repair, first time homebuyers’ grants through FirstHome, and mortgages through 10 different banks.

The program began a year ago when DC 37Executive Director Lillian Roberts wrote to Mayor Mike Bloomberg asking that more affordable housing be made available to members, who must meet city residency requirements as a condition ofemployment. She came back with a 5 percent affordable housing preference for all city workers. In MEHP, Roberts initiated a unique partnership of the union, the city Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development, and Neighborhood Housing Services, a nonprofit ­homeownership organization.

Since September, MEHP has helped three ­DC 37 families become homeowners; 15 members are already in contract to purchase homes, 76 are pre-qualified for mortgages, 30 will receive down payment assistance through FirstHome, an HPD program, and four have refinanced their homes. There are 328 DC 37 members readying themselves for home ownership through the MEHP Financial Fitness/Savings Club. Additionally, MEHP has helped three homeless union families receive federal Section 8 grants and permanent housing in New York City Housing Authority apartments.

Reyes’ house plans hit a glitch just three days ­before her scheduled closing, when the loan officer she had been dealing with unexpectedly quit her job — and left Reyes’ mortgage application in the lurch. Reyes said, “I panicked. I could have lost my down payment and everything but I really have to thank Henry Garrido, Noemi Vega and Tracey Lewis. They were very hands-on, always available, and kept track of things. They reassured me saying, ‘You’re going to get your house, don’t worry.’ ”

The counselors helped her obtain a loan through another bank. Within three days, Pat Harris of Wells Fargo Bank stepped in. “We were able to close on the house and not lose the deal or my down payment,” said a relieved Reyes. Now she and daughters Jennifer and Thanairy, 12, have moved in. They’re picking new paint colors and refinishing the home’s wood floors.

“It’s kind of wonderful to know my union made this possible,” Reyes said. “I am very happy in my new house and thrilled to have that big back yard where my girls can have friends over. We’ll be entertaining a lot this summer.”