YONKERS, N.Y. Driving through the west side of Yonkers, Jim Killoran doesnt see the run-down buildings and broken windows that plague the former industrial area as an obstacle.
He sees them as an opportunity.
Just a year and a half since Killoran, the executive director of Westchesters Habitat for Humanity, and his team of volunteers began targeting the neighborhood for their clean-up efforts, community members have said the evidence of their work is already beginning to show. Several freshly painted doors and windows can be seen along Ashburton Avenue and its side streets, small community gardens full of vegetables fill once vacant lots and dozens of flowers sit inside wooden boxes on street corners.
Were taking back what was taken away, Killoran said. This is a war on poverty.
Habitat for Humanitys transformation of the area began a year and a half ago, after the group finished refurbishing a house on Orchard Street. The project served as a launching point, Killoran said, and the group quickly spread its presence throughout the neighborhood.
Nearly every day Killoran rides up and down the block looking for homes or businesses in need of a fresh coat of paint or new siding. When he finds a potential project, Killoran volunteers to fix the problem, many times free of cost to the owner.
Nothing in this county, no neighborhood, should look ugly or be substandard, he said. We can do this. We need to do this to touch our own community again.
The results, residents said, have been incredible.
The neighborhood is completely different, said John Mckee, who began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity after seeing the work it was doing around his home. And people are noticing.
On Thursday, as Killoran rode down Ashburton Avenue with his coworkers, neighbors stopped to thank him for the work Habitat has done.
That corn tasted like sugar it was so good, one man yelled from the sidewalk as Killoran sat at a stop light, referring to corn from one of Habitats community gardens. I love you man.
What may be the biggest part of Habitat for Humanity's neighborhood revitalization project is still in the works, though. In partnership with its parent program, Habitats Westchester branch has embarked on a program called Welcome Home Houses for Veterans.
Victoria Montenegro, an Iraqi War veteran and Purple Heart awardee, has become part of Habitat for Humanitys veterans outreach program. She said the hardest thing for returning veterans is finding a job and a home.
It causes a lot of grey hairs, Montenegro said. These things arent easy for returning veterans. The transition is extremely difficult.
Habitat for Humanity is looking to help. And a small lot on High Street, off of North Broadway, has become ground zero for its mission in Yonkers.
Killoran calls it Battle Hill and said he envisions a small enclave for veterans. With its views of the Yonkers, the Manhattan skyline and Hudson River, Killoran said the five homes are a hidden gem.
We can make this place beautiful, he said.
When finished, the homes will be built with green materials, solar panels and recycled flooring. Veterans will be able to buy a home with a no interest loan and no money down. Killoran said he hopes families can begin moving into them in a year.
And he wants to transform more houses in Yonkers into homes for returning veterans who otherwise may not be able to own one.
We have to do better as society and if it means cutting into our own bottom line to find a way to open the door for a veteran, we need to do it, he said. We have an obligation to the veterans.
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