BY ANDREW BEAM, The Daily Gazette

SCHENECTADY — Better Neighborhoods Inc. received a $250,000 grant from KeyBank on Wednesday to help in its revitalization efforts in the Eastern Avenue neighborhood and along Crane Street.

The grant, which will be given to the agency over a three-year period, was announced during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday. It will help with the agency’s administrative costs for its Affordable Housing Development Operations.

“Without the support of KeyBank, we literally could not do our work,” said James Flacke, executive director of Better Neighborhoods Inc.

The goal for the funding is to help provide more access to quality affordable housing in the city, according to Kelli Arnold, director of corporate responsibility and community and engagement for KeyBank.

Arnold cited recent U.S. Census data that showed that approximately 7,800 of the city’s 22,000 dwelling units are classified as substandard. She also said that 60 percent of renters in the city live in unaffordable homes, adding that 40 percent of those people spend 30 percent of their household income on rent.

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