The latest funds will support BGCNR’s new Remington clubhouse and improvements of the Mascaro clubhouse. Over the past year, RXR has awarded over $480,000 since launching its youth-focused grants program.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 5, 2023) – RXR, a leading real estate owner, operator, and the master developer for Downtown New Rochelle, today announced it is awarding $100,000 to Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle (BGCNR). This contribution marks one year since RXR announced a $500,000 grant program dedicated to the health, well-being, and safety of New Rochelle’s children and families. Since its launch last year, RXR has committed over $480,000 to various youth programming and educational initiatives.
The new $100,000 grant will support Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle’s Mascaro and Remington clubhouses, expanding on the services and programs they can provide in two of New Rochelle’s most underserved neighborhoods. Grant money will directly support improvements for both clubhouses, including the renovation of rooms, purchasing of new materials, operational costs, and general building needs. RXR’s continued investment in Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle is critical in supporting these communities.
Since being selected as Master Developer of New Rochelle in 2015, RXR has created more than 3.3 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and 5,500 new residential units, including One and Two Clinton Park, 360 Huguenot and Highgarden Tower.
“Since RXR was selected as the downtown master developer by the City of Rochelle, we’re proud to have created thousands of new residential units, hundreds of new jobs, and to leverage this new development to support New Rochellians,” said Joseph Graziose Jr., Executive Vice President, Development Services at RXR. “Our partnership with the Boys and Girls and Club of New Rochelle is another demonstration of the strength of strategic public-private partnerships to build stronger communities.”
“We are incredibly grateful to RXR for their generous support and ongoing commitment to Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle. Their latest investment in our Mascaro and Remington clubhouses is vital in our mission to encourage and empower youth in need in New Rochelle,” said Becky Mazzanobile, CEO, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle. “We’ve already seen tremendous success with our career pathways programming, which exposes our teens to professionals and career opportunities that originally seemed completely out of the realm of possibility. The work done at our clubhouses has a direct impact on the lives of New Rochelle’s youth and, more broadly, the City of New Rochelle – over 80% of our members do service in the community – and we strive to ensure that each child achieves academic success, lives a healthy lifestyle, and displays civic responsibility. We’re thankful to RXR for its unwavering support.”
In June 2022, RXR also awarded $50,000 to support healthcare and sports career pathway activities offered by BGCNR in partnership with Montefiore New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, which provided students with up close, personal connection and hands-on experience with professionals in those respective fields.
As part of the healthcare pathway program, 20 of BGCNR’s teen members were invited to observe a car crash simulation illustrating what happens immediately after a collision, the roles of first responders and other medical personnel, and how teams work together to treat the injured and/or respond to life-threatening situations. Participants were able to meet with EMTs, doctors, nurses, and police and fire department personnel, and learn more about their roles and responsibilities during medical emergencies and more routine patient care, while also learning about the different jobs that exist outside of doctors and nurses and how they can pursue a career in healthcare.
Launched in the spring of 2022, the $500,000 youth programming grant program follows RXR’s previous contribution of more than $1 million in COVID relief funding to various nonprofit organizations in New Rochelle and the surrounding region over the past two years. Grants up to $25,000 were awarded as supplemental funding to existing programs, while applicants for grants above $25,000 were encouraged to partner with other nonprofit organizations in New Rochelle to either establish or expand innovative programming that targets a specific need or population. Youth programming grants made over the past year include:
- A youth empowerment program hosted by the New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority impacting 60 families;
- An early childhood music program administered by Songcatchers for local young children;
- A program to teach New Rochelle high schoolers photography, film, and audio production at the United Community Center of Westchester for their “Seeing Beyond the Horizon” youth program;
- Meals for 60 children of homeless and low-income families at a summer camp run by Lifting Up Westchester ;
- Support for local STEM and STEAM initiatives and competitive robotics in the New Rochelle City School District with the Foundation for Science Research in New Rochelle;
- Support for a back-to-school supplies drive and “birthday buddies” initiative for local children with Kemesha’s Kommunity;
- A continued partnership with PENCIL, Inc., providing summer internship opportunities at RXR for 30 students from New Rochelle High School;
- Support for the New Rochelle City School District’s Green Schools initiative and learning opportunities in sustainability for all 11 schools within the district; and
- Support for a Better Way New York, Inc.’s expansion of local basketball teams in New Rochelle for 8 through 11-year olds.
When New Rochelle became the nation’s early COVID epicenter in 2020, RXR quickly established a COVID Relief Fund with $1 million in seed funding to help the city’s residents, businesses, and non-profits. To date, the fund has disbursed over $1 million in grants to the community to date, including $486,000 to Rebound New Rochelle – a small business relief program, providing $5,000 – $10,000 in grants to women/minority business owners, bilingual business liaison support and strategic consulting services. Grants were awarded to combat food insecurity, provide childcare for essential workers, support telehealth services, help small businesses stay open, bridge the digital divide by providing students with broadband access and iPads, ensure after-school programs remain operational, and provide funding for vaccine incentives. Awardees include:
- Academic Pathways
- Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle
- Child Care Council of Westchester
- HOPE Community Services
- Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center/Vax Up Westchester
- New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority
- NourishAll
- STEM Alliance
- The Guidance Center of Westchester
- Westchester Alphas Education Foundation
- WestCop
- City of New Rochelle Holiday Market
About RXR
RXR is an innovative investor, developer and place-maker committed to applying a customer and community-centered approach to building properties, services, and products that create enduring value for all stakeholders. Headquartered in New York with a national platform strategy, RXR is a 500+ person, vertically integrated operating and development company with expertise in a wide array of value creation activities, including ground up real estate, infrastructure and industrial development, uncovering value in underperforming properties, repurposing well-located iconic properties, incorporating cutting edge technologies and value-added lending. The RXR platform manages 91 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $20 billion, comprising approximately 30.0 million square feet of commercial properties, a multi-family residential portfolio of approximately 8,800 units under operation or development, and control of development rights for an additional approximately 3,500 multi-family and for sale units as of March 31, 2023. Gross asset value compiled by RXR in accordance with company fair value measurement policy and is comprised of capital invested by RXR and its partners, as well as leverage.
About Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle
Founded in 1929, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle has been an integral part of the New Rochelle community, offering youth safe and achievement-driven programming focused on the whole child, that encompasses academics, mental wellness, fitness, leadership, and civics. Today, it serves over 7,000 youth annually, at 15 school sites and two clubhouse locations, providing them with a safe place to learn and grow, ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals, life-enhancing programs and character development experiences, and hope and opportunity.