Lillian Booth Actors Home Named Among Best Nursing Homes In The US

“I’m in awe every time I visit The Home. It’s a national treasure of talented artists under one roof — a group with so much to share with us, and with each other.” –Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chairman

The Lillian Booth Actors Home houses big talent. As Stokes says, its a unique community of individuals who have dedicated a major portion of their professional lives to performing arts and entertainment. But there’s also big talent behind the scenes, as evidenced by the recent U.S.News & World Report naming it among the best nursing homes in the country!

Our assisted living and skilled nursing care facility in Englewood, NJ received the highest-possible rating of five stars from the 2013 report. Of the 16,000 nursing homes in the US, only 3,036 received a five-star rating from the federal government (results are based on data collected from Nursing Home Compare, a website run by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

Special thanks go to our facility’s entire staff – this dedicated team of 125 people takes great great pride in providing the best care possible for our 124 residents. In this photo, front row, left to right: Omar Castano, Jesus Serrano, Maritza Bonilla, Luz Lopez, Tolgonay Agamez, Michelle Rauch, Joyce Kim, Kim Eng, Jose Lopez, Arjan Dema. Middle row, left to right: Nafi Diakebe, Miguelina Cuello, Ana Carasig, Yalile Alzate, Maria Box, Gladys Zelaya, Soo Donlin, Jessica Reial, Annmarie De Feis, Patricia Sinclair, Taida Santana. Top row, left to right: Chris Tyrell, Gary Webb, Michael Howell, Jorge Castro, John Bautista, Silvia Bravo, Linda Zimmerman, Lucy Vance Seligson, Jordan Strohl, Helen Crimmins, Richard Grant, Lucy Prettypaul, Grace Park, Nancy Gronwoldt, Nashwa Fawzy, Cesar Garcia, Igor Denisenko.

Additionally, among the treats that make The Home extra-special are the regular visits by residents’ industry peers and volunteers who come to share their talents. Most recently, cast members from the Off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes spent an hilarious afternoon in Englewood. A huge thanks to pianist Donald Corren and actors Audrey Lynn Weston, Marilyn Sokol, Bill Army and Lenny Wolpe for sharing their laughter and love!

To learn more about The Lillian Booth Actors Home, or to download an application, click here. Our residents love performers (after all, many of them still perform)! Visit this page to contact The Home and volunteer your talents, whatever they might be!

More Holiday Cheer From The Lillian Booth Actors Home

Residents and guests enjoy the Holiday performance in the The Lillian Booth Actors Home's MusiCares Salon. Photo by Karissa Krenz.

The Holiday festivities at The Actors Fund’s Lillian Booth Actors Home continued on December 15th, when more than 90 family members and friends joined residents for the annual Holiday Party. There was fabulous food, as well as entertainment by American Guild of Variety Artists members Betsy DiLellio, Darryl Reuben Hall, Kelly Briscoe and Ron Brooks. The party wrapped up after performances by a few of the residents, which included a sing-along that featured some of the song suggestions we’ve received from you over the past few weeks.

Additionally, two of the day’s visitors were from The Wall Street Journal – writer Lizzie Simon and photographer Claudio Papapietro – who filed a wonderful on The Home, which appeared in the paper on December 23rd. Download a pdf from our website here.

A wonderful time was had by all – check out the video below for some of the sights and sounds from the party!

The Lillian Booth Actors Home of The Actors Fund is a state-of-the-art an assisted living and skilled nursing facility  in Englewood, NJ, for everyone who has dedicated their lives to performing arts and entertainment. Click here to learn more about The Home and its services.

Howard McGillin Brings A Little Phantom To The Lillian Booth Actors Home

Howard McGillin with Lillian Booth Actors Home resident Jennie Shulman

It’s been an especially eventful December at the Lillian Booth Actors Home (more to come next week!). On December 5th, John Erman (our fabulous Actors Fund supporter who donates his time and talent to make special monthly visits by celebrities and entertainment legends possible) and Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee Howard McGillin stopped by The Home to spend some time with the residents. Set to be seen as Frank Crawley in the upcoming production of Rebecca at the Broadhurst Theatre, Howard spoke about his life in the industry, which includes his record-setting run as the longest running Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. He also treated the residents to a few show-stopping tunes, accompanied by pianist Joseph Thalken.

Howard with resident Gordon Connell

And just in case you want to see the show Howard dedicated so much of his career to, The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway is about to become the first production ever to hit 10,000 performances on February 11, 2012. Amazingly, that record-setting event will benefit The Actors Fund! Don’t miss it – visit our website for tickets.

The Actors Fund’s Lillian Booth Actors Home is an assisted living and skilled nursing care facility that provides a comfortable living environment on six acres of property in Englewood, New Jersey. Click here to learn more about The Home and its services.

Taking Time Out: Liz Callaway Visits The Lillian Booth Actors Home

Liz greets Peter Neufeld (one of Broadway's most successful managers and producers) during her September 8 visit to The Lillian Booth Actors Home.

One of the more special highlights of life at The Lillian Booth Actors Home are the regular visits by some of the entertainment industry’s best and brightest, each of whom take time out of their busy schedules to perform for and spend some time with their now-retired compatriots residing at The Home. This month’s amazingly generous guest was Tony nominee and Emmy winner Liz Callaway, who performed a few of her favorite show-stopping numbers (including Memory and Something Wonderful) accompanied by the always-fabulous keyboardist Phil Reno. Liz was also interviewed by John Erman, and spent time greeting all of the residents who’d stopped by for the festivities.

A very special thank-you to our wonderful supporter John Erman, who donates his time and talent to make these special monthly visits possible.

John Erman and Liz.

The Actors Fund’s Lillian Booth Actors Home is an assisted living and skilled nursing care facility that provides a comfortable living environment on six acres of property in Englewood, New Jersey. Click here to learn more about The Home and its services.

Planning for Future Needs in Our Entertainment Community

Annette Bening and Actors Fund Work Program Director Kathy Schrier in a session on Human Services led by BC/EFA’s Tom Viola.

Throughout our 131-year history, The Actors Fund has grown and adapted to the always-changing landscape in which everyone working in performing arts and entertainment lives. In order to continue serving our clients in the best possible ways, and to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new trends, our management and Board leaders periodically take time out every few years to craft a new Strategic Plan.

On March 18, a dedicated group of Actors Fund Trustees and industry leaders gathered at New York City’s Time Warner Center, hosted by Trustee and Time Inc. Edit0r-in-Chief Martha Nelson, to spend the day exploring how best to serve our community in the next five years. It was a productive day, and we would like to thank everyone who took time out from there busy schedules to participate (all photos by Jay Brady Photography). Visit our website for a full listing of our generous Actors Fund Boards and Committees.

Front row (l-r):  Four-time Oscar Nominated actor Annette Bening; GRAMMY Foundation Sr. Vice President Kristen Madsen; Cartoon Network VP of Casting and Talent Development Sharon Lieblein; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola; former Deloitte Financial Advisory Services partner George Zuber; Stage Manager’s Committee Co-Chairs Peter Wolf and Sherry Cohen; former ATPAM President Merle Debuskey; New Jersey real estate developer David Steiner; former SAG New York Division President Joyce Gordon; ASCAP Director of Musical Theatre Michael Kerker; Lodestone Banking Consultancy Advisory Board Chairman Robert O. Lehrman.

Middle row (l-r): Neuberger Berman Managing Director Jeffrey Bolton; New Jersey Pictures LLC Chairman Steve Kalafer; Local 1-IATSE President James Claffey, Jr.; Shubert Organization Chairman Philip J. Smith; IATSE President Matthew Loeb; music producer Abby Schroeder; producer/philanthropist Kate Edelman Johnson, actor Jomarie Ward; Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Executive Director Olga Garay; Director/founder of the Research Center for the Arts & Culture at the National Center for Creative Aging Joan Jeffri.

Back row (l-r): Fund CEO Joseph P. Benincasa; Local 1 – IATSE Secretary Bobby Score; Fund Chief Advancement Officer Thomas Exton; BioReference Laboratories, Inc. CEO Marc Grodman, M.D.; Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation CEO Scott Weiner; Cassidy Turly Senior Managing Director David Lebenstein; American Theatre Wing Executive Director Heather Hitchens; Newpol Foundation’s Stanley Newman; Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin; Actors’ Equity President Nick Wyman; Shubert Organization President Robert Wankel; Greater New York Hospital Association Ventures, Inc. President Lee Perlman; Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell; United Hospital Fund Aging In Place Initiative Director Fredda Vladeck; Medicare Rights Center President Joe Baker; SAG-AFTRA Executive Director David White; philanthropist Honey Waldman; SAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon; Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson; Chadick Ellig Co-CEO Janice Reals Ellig; Cannon Heyman & Weiss, LLP founding partner Steve Weiss; TV writer and Co-Executive Producer of NBC’s Revolution David Rambo.

(Also in attendance were AERIN Communications Director Ebs Burnough, actor Judy Frank, Jujamcyn Theatres Vice President Paul Libin.)

Dr. Marc Grodman led an exploration of issues around the Affordable Care Act and accessing health insurance.

Additionally, special thanks to our four break-out session facilitators, each of whom guided enlightening discussions in partnership with key staff: GRAMMY Foundation Sr. Vice President Kristen Madsen led talks around affordable housing with Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation CEO Scott Weiner; Bio-Reference Laboratories CEO Dr. Marc Grodman explored the future of healthcare with Artists Health Insurance Resource Center Director Jim Brown; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola looked at our human services with National Director of Social Services Tamar Shapiro; and Trustee Joyce Gordon explored serving seniors in our industry along with Fund COO Barbara Davis and Lillian Booth Actors Home Administrator Jordan Strohl.

Finally, we’d like to thank Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell for his continued leadership, as well as Trustee Janice Reals Ellig (and her husband, Bruce) for hosting a wonderful social for our leaders on Sunday evening. And last, but certainly not least, Trustee Martha Nelson, who hosted The Fund at the Time Warner Center. Thank you, all!

At the Ellig Reception (l-r): Brian Stokes Mitchell, Annette Bening, Martha Nelson, Janice Reals Ellig and Bebe Neuwirth.

We’re preparing a special report, and we look forward to continuing a dialogue which will enable The Fund to advance its good work for every member of the creative community.  In the meantime, learn more about what we can do for you (and what you can do for us!) and stay up-to-date on the latest Actors Fund news by visiting our website, following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.

Stokes opened the Strategic Planning retreat at the Time Warner Center.

Kristen Madsen led a session on affordable and senior housing.

Nick Wyman, David Rambo, Roberta Reardon, Sharon Lieblein and Matthew Loeb attend a session on Human Services.

Trustee Joyce Gordon leads a session on Seniors.

Dedicated Leadership: Helping The Actors Fund Serve Our Community

The Actors Fund Board of Trustees. Seated (l-r): Jomarie Ward, Janice Reals Ellig, Charlotte St. Martin, Vice Chair Philip J. Smith, Paul Libin, Honey Waldman, Kate Edelman Johnson. Rear (l-r): Vice Chair Philip S. Birsh, Merle Debuskey, Ebs Burnough, Stewart F. Lane, Assistant Treasurer Lee H. Perlman, Jeffrey Bolton, Tom Viola, Secretary Mark Grodman, M.D., Joyce Gordon, James J. Claffey, Jr. Not pictured: Chairman of the Board Brian Stokes Mitchell, Assistant Secretary Abby Schroeder, Treasurer Steve Kalafer, Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening, Jed W. Bernstein, John Breglio, Nancy Coyne, Rick Elice, Teresa Eyring, Mark Hostetter, Ken Howard, David Henry Hwang, Anita Jaffe, Michael Kerker, Chris Keyser, Matthew Loeb, Kristen Madsen, Kevin McCollum, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James L. Nederlander, Martha Nelson, Phyllis Newman, Harold Prince, Roberta Reardon, Thomas Schumacher, David Steiner, Edward D. Turen, Joseph H. Wender, David White, BD Wong, Nick Wyman, George Zuber. Photo: Playbill.

The Actors Fund‘s Board of Trustees (above) and our Western Council (below) are a dedicated group of individuals deeply interested in the welfare of all professionals who work in the performing arts and in entertainment. Each member brings their own unique brand of expertise and experience to the table, and we value their insightful input and enthusiastic leadership. We thank each one of them for everything they do for The Fund — and our entire community!

At their recent meetings in New York and Los Angeles, they had a first chance to look at the statistical summary of how we helped the entertainment and performing arts community during 2012. We’re currently putting together our Annual Report — which will more fully highlight how The Fund served those in need, crisis or transition last year — but in the meantime, we salute all of our Boards and Committees who lead The Fund in helping our colleagues in the creative community in times of need.

Here are a few of the initial numbers from 2012:

The Actors Fund Western Council: Front (l-r): James Karen, Illyane Morden Kichaven, Charlotte Rae, Marguerite Ray, Jane A. Johnston Shearing, Mary Lou Westerfield, Bridget Hanley. Rear (l-r): Jomarie Ward (Trustee), Joseph Ruskin, Hollace Davids, Dan Guerrero, B. Harlan Boll, Barbara Allyne Bennet, William Thomas, Theodore Bikel, Michael Medico, Ken Werther, Daniel Henning, Daniel Henning, Pam Dixon, Martin Wiviott, Vice Chair Ilene Graff, John Bowab. Not pictured: Chair John Holly, Vice Chair David Rambo, John Acosta, Joni Berry Budd Friedman Katherine Fugate Danny Goldman, Richard Herd Kate Edelman Johnson (Trustee) Scott Roth Bryan Unger David Young. Robby Benson (Emeritus), Henry Polic II (Emeritus), Marguerite Ray (Emeritus), Lynn Wood (Emeritus). Photo: Scott Appel.

• The Actors Fund helped 13,523 people in 2012, 5.6% more than in 2011.
• The lives of 5,024 people were stabilized during times of crisis, transition or health concerns.
• 1,812 people received $2,802,037 in emergency financial assistance.
• The Artists Health Insurance Resource Center (AHIRC) counseled 2,781 people and conducted 119 seminars.
• The Al Hirschfeld Free Clinic provided 3,543 free medical visits to 1,485 uninsured individuals.
• In California, the Performing Arts Clinic at the Venice Family Clinic saw 83 patients.
• Supportive, affordable and special needs housing was provided to 433 people at The Dorothy Ross Friedman, Schermerhorn and Palm View residences.
• And at The Lillian Booth Actors Home, our skilled nursing and assisted living care facility in Englewood, New Jersey, 150 residents received the highest quality care.
• Of special note are the 630 people hurt by Superstorm Sandy. For and with them, we are coordinating care and applications related to recovery and have already provided almost $323,600 in emergency financial assistance to 270 people.

A special thank you to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for being our most dedicated supporter — in 2012 this amazing organization provided The Fund with $4,435,000 to support our programs and services, which included $200,000 in emergency funds for Superstorm Sandy relief last fall. Also providing much-needed support post-Sandy were SAG/AFTRA and The Motion Pictures Players Welfare Fund/MPPWF ($250K), IATSE Local One ($50K), The Schubert Organization ($50K), and Cirque du Soleil ($5K), as well as many individuals — without all of you, our work would have been much more difficult. THANK YOU!

Visit our website to learn more about our free and confidential programs and services or to make a donation. And stay connected as a part of our community on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Entertaining The Entertainers: Mamma Mia & The Broadway Dance Center Visit The Home

Mamma Mia’s Thomasina Gross (in blue) and Sydni Beaudoin (in red) chatted with residents during their visit to The Lillian Booth Actors Home.

The Actors Fund‘s Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, NJ, is a very special community of unique individuals–people who have dedicated a major portion of their professional lives to performing arts and entertainment. In addition to numerous creative activities, the residents are regularly visited by people who take time out of their busy schedules to bring a little entertainment and friendship to those living at The Home, who — in turn — love to share their fascinating stories with their younger compatriots.

On Valentine’s Day, three cast members from Mamma Mia‘s Broadway Company (Thomasina Gross, Jacob Pinion, and Sydni Beaudoin) joined residents for a lively Question and Answer session. Gathered in The Home’s MusiCares Salon, the trio shared their experiences as current Broadway performers, and asked the older generation to share some of their wisdom. It was — indeed — a fun, informative afternoon! Thanks to Thomasina, Jacob and Sydni for making the Q&A an especially memorable one!

Members of the Broadway Dance Company

A few days later, on February 20, 11 dancers from New York City’s Broadway Dance Center traveled across the Hudson to visit The Home. The magnificent performers danced to a variety of jazz pieces, impressing the residents with their abilities and keeping them thoroughly entertained. We thank all of them for their time–and for sharing their talents with us!

For more on The Lillian Booth Actors Home, visit our website. And if you’re interested in performing or volunteering at The Home (there are numerous ways you can help!) visit The Fund’s Volunteer Opportunities page to learn more!

Palm Beach Dramaworks Raises Funds for Those in Need

Shirine Babb & Ethan Henry. Photo by Alicia Donelan.

We’d like to take a moment to thank Palm Beach Dramaworks — as well as its leaders Managing Director Sue Ellen Beryl and Producing Artistic Director Bill Hayes (who are also Actors Fund National Ambassadors) — which recently launched a month of fundraising activities for The Actors Fund in conjunction with their production of Lorraine Hansberry’s acclaimed drama, A Raisin in the Sun.

Pat Bowie. Photo by Alicia Donelan.

Directed by Seret Scott, Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production features Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Shirine Babb, Mekiel Benjamin, Pat Bowie, Kyle Barrett, Marckenson Charles, Lanardo Davis, Ethan Henry, Dave Hyland, Mcley LaFrance, Jordan Tisdale and Joshua Valbrun.

Claudia McNeil

The Fund’s link to A Raisin in the Sun is a strong one, as the show’s Broadway producer, Philip Rose, lived at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood (with his wife, Doris Belack Rose), as did Claudia McNeil, who starred as family matriarch Lena Younger in both the Broadway and film productions of the play — as well as a 1981 musical version.

For more on this very special partnership, check out this story from The Palm Beach Daily News. To purchase tickets to Palm Beach Dramaworks production of A Raisin in the Sun, which runs through March 3, 2013, visit the theatre’s website.

The Art of Caring, By David Henry Hwang

As we gather with friends and family for Thanksgiving, The Actors Fund gives thanks for the countless people who comprise our Actors Fund Family: our Board of Trustees and committee members, all of whom are incredibly dedicated to our cause; our tireless volunteers; the unions, performers, and behind-the-scenes people who make our benefit events possible; our incredible staff, which is always there for those in need; the ongoing support we receive from the entire community and from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; and of course, our fans and clients — we’re always here for you! Finally, we are especially thankful for those who so generously donate to The Fund. You ensure we can fulfill our mission, especially in times of crisis. As the region begins to recover from Superstorm Sandy, wecontinue to hear from hundreds of people throughout the Tri-State area who need emergency help. As of today, we’ve received 497 requests for assistance, and distributed more than $124,000 so far for things like food, clothing, medicine and medical care, temporary shelter and relocation expenses. On this special day, we ask you all to give thanks with us, as together we continue the Art of Caring. (If you are in need of assistance post-Sandy, you can apply for our Emergency Financial Assistance here. You can also donate to our relief efforts here.)

David Henry Hwang

On this Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share this beautiful message by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (one of The Actors Fund‘s newest Trustees), which appeared in the program for Brian Stokes Mitchell’s Simply Broadway benefit for The Fund and Lincoln Center on November 7, 2012.

I was recently honored to become a Trustee of The Actors Fund, joining my good friend and fellow board member Brian Stokes Mitchell, whose artistry enriches tonight’s very special evening. Stokes embodies the spirit of our organization, with the size of his talent matched only by the generosity of his heart. For everyone involved with The Actors Fund works each day to practice the Art of Caring.

Michael Feinstein visits with a resident at The Fund’s Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey. Credit: Jay Brady Photography.

You see that same special spirit in Bebe Neuwirth, founder of The Fund’s Dancers’ Resource, which helps us embrace the dance community with much-needed services. Or Phyllis Newman, whose Women’s Health Initiative allows The Fund to serve women in health crisis. Every one of our staff members embraces this important mission, giving of themselves to provide the programs and services that keep our nation’s artists healthy and creative. Like the very generous Adrienne Arsht, our friends at Lincoln Center and each of you here tonight, we love the performing arts. But true love also inspires a sense of responsibility. Every work of art is born of risk, and artist’s lives are filled with disappointments as well as joys. That’s why it’s so important that you are giving back and supporting those in need; your presence here tonight inspires all of us.

Medical Director Dr. Jim Spears visits with a patient at The Fund’s Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic in NYC.

Since 1882, workers in the performing arts have turned during hard times to The Actors Fund, where they have been served with respect and compassion. The Fund began by helping performers who found themselves stranded far from home, taking care of the sick, disabled and elderly, and providing dignified burials and funerals. Tonight’s event helps preserve this safe haven, and ensure that it continues to meet the needs of today.

How? Through emergency financial assistance in times of need and a wide range of social services. We assist in securing affordable health insurance and also offer free health care. We help our colleagues develop secondary and parallel careers outside the industry through employment and training services. Our youth services in Los Angeles help young performers create healthy and balanced lives. Our housing programs provide affordable and supportive places to live and work. And The Lillian Booth Home in New Jersey offers the highest quality skilled nursing care and assisted living to people who have dedicated their lives to the arts.

A resident outside The Fund’s Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence in Manhattan, our 30-story high-rise that offers affordable, supportive housing for low income working professionals, seniors and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Today, we’ve transformed into a national human services organization that helps everyone – not just actors and performers, but also writers, and all those who work “behind the scenes” – in theatre, film, dance, music, TV, opera and radio. The Fund provides close to two dozen programs that help more than 12,800 entertainment and performing arts professionals per year.

Tonight, you too embody the spirit of compassion, and practice the Art of Caring, which has distinguished The Fund for over a century. You’re supporting not only The Actors Fund and Lincoln Center, but also helping to maintain a safety net for everyone who works in the performing arts. On behalf of our Chairman and our entire community, welcome, thank you, and enjoy the show!

Take Our Rahway Artist Housing Survey!

The empty lot behind this building is the future site of AFHDC’s affordable artist housing in Rahway, NJ.

Last week, The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation (AFHDC) launched a market study of those in the arts, entertainment and creative industries to determine the feasibility of and interest in affordable housing in Rahway, NJ. The launch event took place at the Hamilton Stage, the newest component of the booming Rahway Arts District (RAD).

This first step–a four-week initiative–is looking for feedback from those working in the arts who live in the region spanning metropolitan New York and central and northern New Jersey. The survey’s results will help shape the Rahway Residence for the Arts, a 69-unit affordable housing project to be developed by the AFHDC. Of course, the more people who take the ten-minute survey, the better, so if you’re interested, visit www.RahwayArtistHousingSurvey.org!

The proposed site is in the middle of the Rahway Arts District, on now-vacant land between the Hamilton Stage and the Union County Performing Arts Center, and only three blocks from Rahway’s New Jersey Transit train station.  The AFHDC development team includes Crawford Street Partners of Newark, NJ, and the Ingerman Group of Cherry Hill, NJ. A former two-story office building located on the site will be donated to the City of Rahway for use as an arts education facility.

Check out some video highlights from the launch (embedded below), which also includes photos of the neighborhood. During the event, attendees learned about AFHDC plans to redevelop the property owned and previously used by Elizabethtown Gas at 210 Central Avenue. The site will include spaces devoted to resident and community cultural use such as rehearsal rooms, galleries, studios, and an arts education facility, in addition to affordable housing for artists.

Along with Actors Fund President and CEO Joe Benincasa and the AFHDC’s Scott Weiner, attendees included leaders of the New Jersey arts community: Leo Vasquez of Rutgers University’s Arts Build Communities; Teya David and Libby Reid of the Union County Cultural & Heritage Commission; and Karen Pinzolo of ArtPride NJ.. Also in attendance were Rachael Faillace, executive director of the Rahway Arts District; Russ Taylor, president and CEO of the RSI Bank in Rahway; and Rahway officials including Samson Steinman, president of Rahway City Council and executive director of the Union County Performing Arts Center and Hamilton Stage, and William Rack of the Rahway Redevelopment Commission. Actors and other artists living and working in the region who would benefit from the availability of affordable housing also attended the event and were among the first to complete the online survey.

In May of this year, the city of Rahway designated the non-profit AFHDC as the redeveloper of the site for the affordable housing project. Together with its development partners, the AFHDC is planning to develop, own and manage affordable rental units for individuals and families with low and moderate incomes. Current plans anticipate construction to begin in 2013.

This is the first step in a community engagement effort that will be documented and shared widely. The survey will close on September 14th, after which the results will be captured in a report and posted on The Actors Fund website.

The Actors Fund Housing portfolio includes The Lillian Booth Actors Home, an assisted living and skilled nursing care facility in Englewood, NJ; as well as affordable supportive housing at The Palm View in West Hollywood, CA; The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence (formerly The Aurora) in New York City, and The Schermerhorn in Downtown Brooklyn. Additionally, the AFHDC is actively evaluating opportunities for future developments in New York City, Newark, and Los Angeles.