NEW YORK – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo cut the ribbon today on a new 52-unit housing complex for senior citizens on New York City’s Lower East Side.

The ceremony at the Alliance Apartments formally opened what is home to 81 New Yorkers between the ages of 62 and 80. The complex was built by the Educational Alliance with a $5.6 million Section 202 grant from HUD and $1 million from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. HUD also provides $220,000 in annual assistance to the residents.

Completed in March, the new Alliance Apartments was sponsored and is owned by the Educational Alliance, which is the city’s second-oldest settlement house. The group is affiliated with the United Jewish Appeal.

"The completion of the Alliance Apartments is an example of success we can achieve when HUD works in partnership with local groups to provide housing tailored to local needs," Cuomo said.

Prior to coming to Alliance Apartments, virtually all of the residents had what HUD refers to as "worst-case" housing needs. One elderly woman from the former Soviet Union, for example, found herself unable to pay a monthly rent of $650 after her husband’s death and was facing homelessness before taking up residence in the new complex. Another woman had been living with her daughter and son-in-law in their small apartment, where, according to her doctor, she was physically and emotionally abused on a daily basis. Other residents came from substandard and overcrowded units or were victims of domestic violence.