[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 8, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MANUEL (MANNY) MENDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 1999

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Manuel 
(Manny) Mendez, an outstanding individual who has devoted his life to 
his family and to serving the community. Mr. Mendez who left Phipps 
Community Development Corporation on Wednesday, August 4, 1999 after 10 
brilliant years his post as executive director/chief executor officer.
  Mr. Mendez is a community builder to creating and sustaining enduring 
communities. He is the principal administrator of the Phipps Community 
Development Corporation which is an affiliate corporation of Phipps 
Houses, New York's oldest and largest nonprofit developer/owner of 
housing for low and moderate income families. Founded in 1905 Phipps 
Houses provides secure and well-designed housing for the working poor 
and other needy families.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Mendez's primary focus is on the management, design, 
implementation and community development of seven residential 
communities throughout New York City, providing homes to 14,000 
individuals. The communities are West Farms and Crotona Park West in 
the South Bronx, Bellevue South in Manhattan and Sunnyside in Queens.
  Manny believes that shelter is not enough. Hence, Phipps CDC--a Human 
Services/Educational/Employment Training Corporation--is committed to 
the development of the human spirit. Through a variety of program 
offerings in the fields of education, human services, employment 
readiness and community development, the Corporation under his 
leadership has assisted thousands of families. In early 1992 Mr. Mendez 
initiated efforts to provide Phipps residents and community members 
with regular and preventive medical care necessary for long term health 
and well being. Additionally this effort would help in ending the need 
for community members to use hospital emergency rooms as their primary 
care physicians in two South Bronx neighborhoods. In June of 1993, in a 
joint effort with the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, the first family-
based practice clinic was opened in Crotona Park West. In 1994, in 
concert with Montefiore Hospital, a second family-based practice was 
opened in West Farms.
  Mr. Speaker, the contributions and accomplishments of Mr. Mendez in 
the field of human services, social policy and community development 
have been widely cited in the New York Times, New York Magazine, the 
Amsterdam News, the Washington Post as well as many other publications.
  Before joining Phipps, Mr. Mendez held several senior executive level 
positions at the New York City Human Resources Administration, among 
them as Deputy Commissioner from 1988 to 1990. Mr. Mendez was 
responsible for the shelter of 12,000 homeless men and women, 4,000 
prospective service for adults cases and 168 senior citizen centers. In 
1995 he was appointed to a four-year term as commissioner of the New 
York City Equal Employment Practices Commission. He had served as 
special advisor to President Carter on the Atlanta Project and to the 
United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in Washington, D.C. and 
was an assistant professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of 
Social Services. He is a sponsor of the One Hundred Black Men's Youth 
Leadership Program and former president of the Puerto Rican Family 
Institute, a National Mental Health Organization. Mr. Mendez is 
presently a trustee and serves on the Executive Committee as assistant 
treasurer of Bronx Lebanon Hospital, a board member of the Association 
of Hispanic Arts, chairman of the New York City Human Resources 
Administration Advisory Board and a trustee of the Primary Care 
Development Corporation.
  Mr. Mendez is a graduate of City College of New York and the Fordham 
University Graduate School of Social Services. He is a native of the 
Bronx, he and his wife, Joan, presently reside in the upper Westside of 
Manhattan.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing best of luck 
to Mr. Manuel (Manny) A. Mendez in his new endeavors.

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