Crisco announces $300,000 housing-rehab grants

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. , D-Woodbridge, today announced the award of two $300,000 grants – one each for housing rehabilitation projects in Ansonia and Derby.
Crisco said the grants are part of the federal government’s Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, administered in Connecticut by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Crisco worked on behalf of both the Ansonia and Derby applications while they were under consideration by DECD officials. Projects to qualify for funding through the Small Cities Grant program usually include economic development initiatives, construction of affordable housing, and improvement of municipal facilities or community centers.

“The Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program is vital to the well-being of small cities like Ansonia and Derby, this year allowing them to pursue general rehabilitation projects that simply must be completed to improve the quality of life for residents, and completing them without increasing local property taxes,” Crisco said. “I’m grateful for the favorable consideration by DECD officials of these local applications.”

In a general sense, the collaborative federal/state program provides financial assistance to low- and moderate-income applicants for a variety of housing rehabilitation needs including window and roof replacement, other weatherization improvements, and heating system upgrades.

“In each of these cities, the plan to use these funds to rehabilitate designated housing stock clearly demonstrates the value of the state’s Small Cities Grant program, because if either city was left on its own, there simply wouldn’t be enough money in the budget to address the issue,” Crisco said. “It’s always very gratifying to see how these partnerships – in this case between all three levels of government – bring beneficial projects to fruition, bringing relief to residents and municipal budgets alike.”


The above is a press release from Crisco's office.