Flake's group building affordable senior housing

From the Daily News:

A CONTROVERSIAL developer has been awarded almost $12million to build affordable senior housing in the Rockaways.

The Allen A.M.E. Neighborhood Preservation and Development Corp. expects to break ground on the 66-unit Allen by the Bay this fall. The five-story project, which includes an arts-and-crafts room and a library, is slated to open 12 to 14 months after construction begins, corporation officials said.

"There's just not enough affordable housing available for senior citizens," said the Rev. Floyd Flake, the group's chief executive officer. "What we provide is the ability to live with dignity in the latter years of their lives."

Flake and his development group have come under fire recently.

The former congressman was investigated in a possible ethics flap regarding Aqueduct Entertainment Group's winning bid to run a racino at the Queens race track.

But Flake was cleared - for the most part - in the inspector general's report.

His development group, an arm of the powerful Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, wanted to build the housing in response to the overwhelming need in the borough, he said.

More than 1,000 people are on waiting lists for two of the church's three Queens affordable-housing residences for the elderly, Flake said.

The Far Rockaway facility, at 22-14 and 22-22 Loretta Road, is being funded through a $11.5million New York State Homes and Community Renewal loan.

That money will be paid back through a $10million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant and various tax credits, said the organization's chief financial officer, Charles Foster.